Destined
by saxygal
Summary: My version of the next H.o.N. It picks up after Awakened so SPOILERS. I also don't own H.o.N. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this is my first fanfic so bear with me. I'm picking up right where Awakened left off. This first chapter is from Neferet's Vessel, Aurox's, point of view. In case you've forgotten, Aurox has Heath's soul inside of him. So go ahead and enjoy.**

Chapter 1:

_Aurox_

Aurox leaned against the rail of the penthouse's balcony. The full moon shone brightly over his head as he gazed silently over Tulsa's skyline. There was a slight breeze which blew his blond hair away from his shoulders. It chilled the part of his arms that weren't covered by his shirt and raised small goose bumps down their length.

He sighed and turned and walked back inside the penthouse. Aurox paced quietly around the main room. He wished to go out so he wouldn't be stuck alone with nothing to do. But he was a Vessel, he had to obey orders.

Aurox let his mind wander back to just over six hours ago.

_"Stay here while I attend to the duties at the House of Night. You are not to be noticed. The time is not right for me to reveal your existence."_

The Tsi Sgli was powerful; he had sensed that from the moment of his creation the night before. Being a creature born of Darkness himself, Aurox had seen Darkness clinging to her and the sheer thickness of it. It awed him that she reveled in Darkness, being that she was a High Priestess of Nyx, leader of the forces of Light. And yet, he was disgusted by the way Darkness crawled over her skin and clung to her like a close fitting gown. Simple emotions for a simple creature born of blood and evil.

But his emotions conflicted with each other and his own being. Aurox didn't understand it at all. He was born of Darkness, made to perform the evil deeds of his Queen.

_Then why was he repulsed by what created him?_

**I know, first chapter was short. Don't worry the others will be longer. This is more of a preface really. Please review, I want to hear your opinions and suggestions. I have Anoymous reviews on so for those who want to review that don't have a fanfiction may. I don't have PM, but you can post questions in the review as well and I'll answer them in Author's Notes or they'll be answered in another chapter.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright everyone, Chapter 2 is here. It's the end of the school day/night. Pretty uneventful but the story will pick up later. I'm trying to follow the style of the books so it makes sense. This is from Zoey's view and she will be the only one to narrate in first person. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2:

_Zoey_

I stroked Persephone's back with the curry brush rhythmically. I thought that I had been brushing the same spot for a while but I didn't really care. I could feel my cat, Nala, walking around my feet, rubbing her face against my legs. Well, at least my cat understands what's been going on.

I felt Stark's eyes on me so I glanced towards him. He stood just inside the door to Persephone's stall, arms folded across his chest, his bow slung over his shoulder so he could grab it quickly if he needed to. But his eyes were soft and gentle. And worried.

He raised an eyebrow at me, as if he wanted to ask a question. I knew what was going through his mind.

I nodded at him, keeping my eyes on his face. Probably a bad idea, but it kept me from bursting into tears. Stark's eyebrow went higher, but he nodded back and turned back to watch the door. I returned to brushing the mare.

I couldn't blame him for being concerned about me. For starters, he could feel my emotions because of his Warrior Oath, though I figured that since he had become my Guardian the connection had strengthened. He also was there yesterday when I had woken up sobbing after Nyx had told me that my mother had been killed. Stark had cradled me in his arms while I cried, murmuring whatever he thought might comfort me. But I remember now that I had heard a voice, or more like a memory of a voice, telling me to pull myself together cause there was a war going on, oh and that I snot too much when I cry. My memory of Heath's voice.

That was it; my heart just couldn't take it anymore. I dropped the curry brush and sat down on the stall floor. I buried my face on my knees and let myself cry silently so the fledglings who were riding in the field house wouldn't hear me. Stark's arms wound around me and I turned and I cried into his chest. He didn't say anything; he just sat there and let me cry myself out.

I don't know how long we sat there, me sobbing and him comforting me with his presence and letting me snot all over him, but soon the sounds of horses and fledglings reentering the stables grew louder and closer to us. Stark squeezed me once before pulling away to look at me. He reached into his jeans pocket and handed me a tissue. I took it and wiped my nose, tears still streaming down my face.

"Alright, wumman, enough tears. Ye need to look strong for the other lads and lassies," Stark said in that stupid Scottish accent. But it still made me smile a little and gave me some strength.

I nodded and stood, Stark keeping his hand on my arm while I did so. I quickly picked up the curry brush and the other tools that I used to groom and care for Persephone and went to put them in the tack room. Stark followed me; I guess more for his own sake than mine since he was practically crazy with worry.

As we went to leave, Lenobia, the Horse Mistress, touched my arm gently. She was the only other person besides Stark who knew about my mother's death and she probably would be the only professor that I would tell. I'd tell my friends when we returned to the tunnels.

"I'll be alright," I told her. I hoped that Stark had heard me as well, or was at least paying attention to what I was saying.

"Don't push yourself, Zoey. Let this wound heal before advancing into this war with Darkness," Lenobia said. Her eyes were full of concern and pleading.

"I will, I promise."

Lenobia nodded and let us leave. We walked towards the eastern wall and the secret entrance, Nala close on our heels. We sort of blended in with the rest of the school, which was heading to Nyx's Temple. I say sort of because we were two of the few students who openly rejected Neferet and we were walking away from Nyx's Temple.

Those of us who had vacated the House of Night the night before to live in the tunnels, but still attend classes, had decided before we left that we would not attend the Full Moon Ritual. None of us wanted to deal with Neferet's complete bullpoopie so we were leaving after our last classes. Originally, the plan had been to hold the Dark Daughter's ritual during the regular one. Stark easily talked me out of it since I was, in his words, "too screwed up to do any kind of serious ritual crap" and had worked it out with the others to leave immediately after classes.

"None of us are entirely sure of who's really on our side here and I'm not going to take any chances," he had said at lunch. Everyone had agreed and even Aphrodite admitted that the students were making her feel nervous.

Stark and I reached the entrance first. I sat on the ground and leaned my head against the wall. I was really beginning to despise the place. There had been so much death here and the place reeked of Darkness. Unfortunately, the secret entrance was the only way we could come and go as we pleased.

"You're going to tell them, aren't you?" Stark asked me. While I had been lost in thought, he had squatted down next to me. I nodded, watching the students coming from the school, looking for fledglings splitting from the crowd or red Marks.

"Zoey…"

"I'm going to tell them Stark." He still didn't look convinced. "As soon as we get back to the tunnels, I promise." He nodded, but he still looked worried.

"Stark!"

"Zoey!"

We both looked up at the same time to see the Twins waving at us, followed by Damien, Duchess, Aphrodite, and a herd of red fledglings. And cats. Lots of cats. Looks like Aphrodite would be using that gold card of hers on cat food now too.

We stood up and waved back. Duchess bounded up to Stark and he bent over to scratch her ears. I saw him smile, which made me smile too. At that moment, though, my phone buzzed with a text from Stevie Rae.

Cars r ready. Let's go.

"Hey, quit moving so we can get a count!" I yelled over all the chatting. Stark and I both counted and double checked off of each other. We came up with everybody being here.

"Alright, everyone," I called. "The cars are waiting for us. Let's go home."

**There it is. Like I said, not much going on action wise, more of a kickoff for the rest of the story. Please review and thanks to everyone for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, chapter 3. Our gang has just found out about Zoey's mom. Three POV's here, Zoey, Aphrodite, and Stark. Again not much action but this leads into stuff in the next chapter that will be important later. So read on and enjoy!**

Chapter 3:

_Zoey_

Everyone sat on the floor of Stevie Rae and Rephaim's room with their mouths hanging open or tears streaming down their faces. Or both. Silence rang through the air for a few moments then everyone was talking at once.

"This is terrible!"

"Are you sure?"

"What's going to happen now?"

"It was that evil, Darkness reveling witch, I just know it."

"Will everyone please just SHUT UP!" Stark's voice rang out over everyone else's. The room immediately fell silent. "Thank you."

I put my hand on Stark's knee as he sat down next to me on the bed, grateful to my Warrior and my love that he was looking out for me. My eyes met his for a brief second, trying to convey wordlessly all of the feelings I had for him, and then I turned to face the rest of the room.

"Are you sure Z? I mean, is your mamma really-?"Stevie Rae started but I cut her off.

"Completely. Nyx showed her in the grove in Otherworld to me last night. There's no doubt at all."

Stevie Rae hugged me from where she was sitting next to me. I was so glad that she was my best friend and that we had no more secrets that we were keeping from each other.

"Do you think that Neferet killed her, Zoey?" Damien. The poor thing was still grieving the loss of Jack, we all were. But right now he was staring at me with the comforting eyes that he had had before Jack had been killed. He was healing and that made my heart lift, if only slightly.

"I don't know. My personal opinion would be yes, but I can't be sure. Neferet would try to hurt me by trying to hurt or kill someone I care about, but she knows that me and my mom haven't had a fantastic relationship recently. I figured if Neferet was trying to attack me emotionally she would've gone for someone I'm a lot closer to…" My voice trailed off into nothingness, while I became lost deep in thought. Then a realization hit me, harder than a fist in my gut.

"Zoey, have you talked to Grandma today?" Aphrodite asked. Her voice was strained; she had realized the same thing that I had.

I shook my head. "I need to call her." I stood up and walked out of the room, Stark close on my heels.

_Aphrodite_

Aphrodite was suddenly stricken with fear for Grandma Redbird. Hopefully, Neferet had missed her and had attacked Zoey's mom instead. But still, the thought of Grandma Redbird getting hurt again or dying was causing her to shake in her designer boots.

The room was slowly beginning to converse again. Most of the conversations were hushed between the red fledglings, but she caught sight of the Twins, so disgustingly similar that sometimes Aphrodite wanted to gag, chatting quietly with worried looks on their faces.

She saw Stevie Rae looking at Rephaim. The former Raven Mocker's eyes were intense and worried at the same time. Stevie Rae nodded and squeezed his hand. What passed between them was beyond Aphrodite, but she assumed that they had been speaking to each other through their Imprint.

"Alright ya'll," Stevie Rae called out to the rest of the room. "Red fledglings, I want ya'll to go to the kitchen and eat then hit the sack. We've got a long night again tomorrow so everybody needs to get a good day's rest. Sunrise is in 2 and a half hours away so chop-chop." Some of the red fledglings groaned but obliged. Aphrodite was shocked. Stevie Rae was truly their High Priestess.

As soon as the room emptied out, Aphrodite, Darius, and the Nerd Herd convened around Stevie Rae and Rephaim.

"Alright bumpkin, what's going on with you and Bird Boy here?" Aphrodite said. She never had liked people keeping secrets from her and she could tell that this was one that was of major importance. To all of them.

Rephaim scowled, but Stevie Rae put her hand on his chest and he relaxed. "Rephaim has somethin' to say to us but it needs to wait until Zoey and Stark come back." She said her tone full of authority, which Aphrodite admired.

The Twins nodded in understanding while Damien stood there looking like a lost puppy. Darius glanced at Aphrodite. She sighed.

"Fine, we'll wait."

_Stark_

The basement of the Tulsa Depot was cold from the winter wind blowing in through the grate. His bow sat on his lap as he sat against the wall next to the entrance to the tunnels. He had to admit, he preferred being underground like the red fledglings and Stevie Rae, though he was just now realizing it.

Zoey was pacing while she talked to her grandmother. Stark had been filled with the same relief that had filled her when Grandma Redbird had answered her phone, and not just because she was safe. He hadn't wanted anything to happen to Zoey's grandma, she had been kind to him every time he saw her. But he was more relieved that Zoey didn't have to deal with Grandma Redbird's death as well. To be honest, Stark had feared that if she had died, Zoey's soul would've shattered again and he wasn't sure he could bring her back a second time.

Currently, the two of them were talking about Zoey's mom, remembering the good times they'd had with her. Zoey had tears falling down her face and Stark was sure that her grandmother was crying on the other end. He wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation. He was worried about what lay outside the depot and he didn't want to eavesdrop. He wouldn't have even followed Zoey if he wasn't her Guardian.

"I love you too Grandma. Stay safe, please." Zoey paused for a moment, then "Thank you. Bye Grandma."

Stark stood and went over to her. Zoey buried her face in his chest and he held quietly. He kissed her hair softly, trying to be whatever comfort he could.

"I convinced her to go to the abbey," Zoey said softly. "I figured the she'd be safer there than at her farm."

"I agree. Neferet wouldn't try anything in that place."

"I hope your right Stark."

Stark squeezed her gently. "She'll be fine. Worry about yourself right now _mo bann ri_." He definitely was worrying about her, he was constantly.

Zoey laughed. "Do you do that Scottish thing just to annoy me?"

"Aye, wumman. It makes me sound more like yur humble servant as well." He grinned down at her and she smiled back.

"Come on, let's go back in. It's freezing out here. And besides, I want to talk to the gang before bed." Stark nodded. He wrapped the arm that wasn't holding his bow around her waste and led her back into the safety of the tunnels.

**Alright, I feel accomplished for two in one day. Next chapter probably won't be til early next week though. Rephaim's got some good stuff to share with the Nerd Herd in the next chapter. Thanks again for reading and please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, Chapter 4. Rephaim's sharing his view on Zoey's mom's death. Keep in mind that none of them really know what happened. Now's also when the plot will pick up. When ideas start circulating, our lovely group of misfits starts moving forward. So, read on.**

Chapter 4:

_Rephaim_

Stevie Rae's arm was warm around his waist as they sat on the bed. That feeling was one that Rephaim would never take for granted. He was forever grateful to Nyx for blessing him with an actual human body and with Stevie Rae.

The rest of the group was spread out around the room. The Warrior Darius was sitting in a corner talking to Aphrodite. Rephaim found that she was rather rude, but he didn't say anything. The other three were sitting in front of the bed. The two girls, blonde haired and fair skinned Erin and dark haired and caramel skinned Shaunee, were talking to Damien. From what he could hear, he guessed that they were trying to ease his mind.

He glanced at Stevie Rae. Her red tattoos framed her face beautifully and he wondered how she had fallen in love with something like him. She looked back at him and smiled. He felt his heart stop. Stevie Rae sensed his worry. In his mind he heard her voice.

_"They'll be back soon, quit fidgeting."_

_ "How close is dawn?"_

Stevie Rae closed her eyes and pursed her lips. After a few moments she reopened her eyes. _"Two hours."_

Rephaim sighed. _"They better hurry."_

Just at that moment, Zoey and Stark entered the room. Rephaim felt his body relax, most of the tension leaving him. Not all, but most.

"Grandma's fine. Shaken up and upset, but at least she's not hurt," Zoey said, her relief obvious in her voice. The whole room relaxed at her news.

Before anyone else could say anything, Aphrodite was already on her feet staring down Rephaim."Alright Bird Boy, Zoey and Arrow Boy are back. Spill the beans."

Rephaim scowled at her again. He did not appreciate being called Bird Boy. Yes, he turned into a raven during the day, but that was a punishment and was not something he was proud of.

"Be nice hag," Erin said.

"Or we just might have to use our affinities and get rid of that pretty hair of yours," Shaunee added.

"Well said Twin," Erin said while giving Shaunee a high five.

Damien frowned. "I don't think that we need to be threatening each other. We're in a war, try to be civil."

Zoey nodded. "I agree Damien. Erin, Shaunee, we've already discussed this. Aphrodite, no one needs you abusing them," Aphrodite snorted, but said nothing. "Rephaim, I take it you have something to share."

Rephaim glanced at Stevie Rae. She smiled at him and nodded. He sighed and turned to face the group.

"I believe that Neferet or my father is behind your mother's death." The room was quiet. No one really seemed shocked at his idea.

"Why would Kalona attack Z's mom? Doesn't he want Zoey for himself? I don't see how killing her mother would accomplish anything on his side," Damien pointed out. No wonder Stevie Rae said he was a brainiac; the boy was intelligent and perceptive. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

Rephaim nodded. "True, my father does wish to possess Zoey. But he has now begun to realize that she is resistant to him. In his mind, if he can't have her the only other solution would be to kill her. And what's the easiest way to be able to kill someone?"

"Weaken them emotionally," Stark said from his position behind Zoey. The entire room turned to look at him. "What? If someone's emotionally damaged, they don't think as clearly and therefore won't be able to defend themselves as well as they normally would, making it easier for them to be killed."

"Says the one who never misses," muttered Aphrodite. The girl was really getting on Rephaim's nerves. Stark shot her a glare so fierce that if looks could kill, the girl would've been dead on the spot.

"Why you little, no good…"

"ENOUGH!" Zoey shouted. The two immediately backed down, but Stark wrapped his arms tighter around Zoey's waist. Rephaim figured he was sincerely considering ripping out Aphrodite's throat. Which might actually be an improvement.

"So you think that Kalona has gotten to the point where my death is more appealing than having me as an ally?" Zoey turned her attention back to Rephaim.

"Yes, possibly. Your mother's death was caused by Darkness. Why, I don't know. But I know that her death was no accident."

Zoey pursed her lips, her forehead scrunching up in deep wrinkles. The rest of the group looked worried, especially Stark. Rephaim saw how he tightened his grip on Zoey protectively. He realized if the situation were reversed, he would be acting the same way towards Stevie Rae. Maybe he wasn't so different from the red vampyre.

Which meant that maybe he did fit in here.

**So Rephaim's thinking that Kalona is more likely the killer. None of them know how wrong he is. Next chapter will be posted on Sunday evening at the earliest. There will also be one of Kramisha's poems coming into play soon. Please review. If any one has any suggestions for the story, put them in a review and I'll consider them for future chapters. Thanks for reading everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, here's chapter 5. Sorry it took so long, but I don't have Internet at my dad's house right now so I can't upload anything when I'm there. Also, it's a stressful time at school and I have scholarship stuff going on so my writing times sort of limited. This one's short. A little bit into the Stevie Rae-Rephaim relationship and we get some strange stuff going on with Stark here as well. Please read and review.**

Chapter 5:

_Stevie Rae_

Stevie Rae sat on the bed with her knees drawn up. Everyone else had gone to bed, after talking briefly about what to do next. And really, no one had many ideas to begin with.

Rephaim was standing next to the door, silent. She knew he was preparing himself to say goodbye. Stevie Rae didn't understand why he felt like he needed leave. Just because he turned into a raven during the day didn't mean he had to leave. Everyone here had accepted him just the way he was and wouldn't mind a bird wandering around. And it would give him a chance to sleep.

Rephaim sighed, pulling Stevie Rae from her thoughts. He turned and looked at her. He wore a small smile on his face, but his brown eyes were sad, pained.

"Why do you have to leave? You know everyone his fine with you—"

"Sweetheart, I can't." Rephaim's smile was gone, his eyes begging her to understand.

"But Nyx never said that you couldn't stay here during the day, just that you'd be a raven."

"I know. Stevie Rae, a bird's not meant to be underground."

Stevie Rae was hurt. What was he saying? That he had to leave completely? "I don't understand…" Her voice was cracking. She felt the tears coming and nothing, thinking about her Mama or singing Kenny Chesney in her head, could stop them from falling down her cheeks.

Rephaim sat down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. He stroked her hair while she cried. They were silent for a few moments then he spoke.

"I didn't mean that I wasn't coming back. I'll always be here for you, Stevie Rae, promise." Stevie Rae nodded, not entirely convinced. "What I meant was, when I'm a bird, I want to fly. That's kind of hard to do down here. I won't go far, that way I'm still near if you need me; even if I'm a big ugly raven." He laughed, but it was halfhearted.

"I'd never think that you're ugly, even as a raven."

"I know."

Rephaim squeezed her again. He stood slowly and bent down to kiss her. Stevie Rae kissed him back, but it was too short.

"I'll see you after the sun sets, my Red One." He walked to the door. Just as he was about to walk out, Stevie Rae called out to him.

"Rephaim." He turned once more to look at her. "I love you."

He smiled back at her. "I love you too." Then he walked out of the room.

_Stark_

Stark held Zoey in his arms as they lay on the small mattress that they shared. She had fallen asleep rather quickly, given all that had happened within the last 48 hours. He figured that he needed to sleep too. Actually, he _knew_ that he needed to sleep, but he couldn't.

Zoey murmured something unintelligible and squirmed. Stark released his grip on her and let her roll into a more comfortable position. He smiled down at her sleeping face, so peaceful and untroubled.

Stark rolled onto his back and stared up at the earthen ceiling. Something was wrong, he could feel it down in his bones. Something bad was going to happen, and soon. Problem was, he didn't know what.

At that moment, something within him changed. He suddenly felt disconnected to his body, like he was floating above where he lay on the ground.

Stark watched as he, or his body, sat up and looked around. What was going on? His body then stood up and looked down at Zoey. A triumphant laugh came from his mouth as his arms moved in circles, like stretching, and his legs carried his body around the room, completely out of his control.

Something was wrong here, very wrong. Stark couldn't control his own body and was watching helplessly as he walked around the room, handling the various objects in the room. Then Stark saw something that frightened him more than anything else had.

His eyes were red. Cold and red as the tattoos that covered his face.

Just as he saw it, he was back inside his body and in complete control. He moved to the mirror and stared at his reflection. His eyes were the same dark brown that he was used to.

"What just happened?"

**Alright, now we're getting into the Kalona-Stark connection. Possibly one of Kramisha's poems in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading! Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 is here! Ok, now's when we're really getting into the storyline. Plus, there's a new poem, just like I said. So, read and enjoy!**

Chapter 6:

_Zoey_

My bowl of Count Chocula sat in my lap, the milk already turning chocolate. The kitchen was as loud, if not louder, than the dining hall. The red fledglings were chatting amongst themselves, each group getting slightly louder just to be heard over the others, which in turn made the other groups get louder too.

Our group sat off to the side, quieter than the others, but we were still talking. Stark was the only not saying anything. He was acting really jumpy and edgy. His fists were clenched and his eyes were darting around the room. Plus, he was sitting away from us, but close enough that he was still able to be in the conversation. He'd been acting like this since we'd gotten up this morning.

I began to wonder if maybe Stark was sensing some kind of danger nearby, but Darius wasn't acting strange, so I crossed that idea off. Maybe he was just being antsy today.

Suddenly the room became very quiet. Our corner immediately noticed and looked at the room. Everyone's eye was on the small portable TV that was sitting on one of the makeshift counters. The 6 o'clock news was on, from only an hour ago, and the reporter was standing in front of what looked like a high school.

"Hey, somebody turn that up," I called out. Immediately, the volume rose so that we could hear it from the other side of the room.

_"The bodies of three students from Rogers High School were discovered early this morning underneath the bleachers of the football stadium. The cause of death appears to be severe bleeding from the throat. An investigation is currently in process. Tulsa City Police is not yet releasing any details."_

Stevie Rae turned the TV off. No one said anything. We knew what, or I guess the better word was _who_, had committed this heinous crime. Evil red fledglings.

"Um, everyone needs to go and get their stuff ready to go. Classes start in an hour so, yea." My voice was weak and seemed unnatural in the sudden silence. Everybody complied, but just for something to do. Our circle stayed put.

"Why are they coming out like this? I figured they'd want to stay on the down low," Damien asked.

Stevie Rae shook her head. "That's how we are, not them."

Rephaim nodded. "I've seen what they can do first hand. Trust me, they're so polluted by Darkness that they'll do anything crude and vulgar."

"But why make a show of themselves?" It was the first time Stark had spoken. We all looked at him confused.

"They could've been just feeding, Stark. You remember the strong bloodlust that you had before you chose Light, and so does Stevie Rae." I pointed out. Stevie Rae nodded in agreement.

Stark shook his head. "This is different. I remember that you all had said that the news reports were all saying that the victims were completely drained of blood when the red fledglings hadn't regained their humanity and were killing high school kids." We nodded, Stevie Rae shuddered. "So, seeing as that's not what they said this time, I'm saying that they're trying to get someone's attention."

We were all quiet after that. We slowly dispersed ourselves. I walked quickly back to the room that Stark and I shared so I could get my stuff and get ready to meet everyone else in the basement. Stark walked quietly behind me, back in the state he had been in all evening.

The moment we were both in the room I whirled on him. "What is with you today?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You've been distant and moody all evening. That is so not like you."

Stark sighed. "Yeah, ok you're right. Listen Zoey, something's happening to me. I don't know what or why, but something's not right. I'm just being cautious, that's all."

I nodded. I was one who understood that completely.

Just then the curtain that acted as our door was brushed aside. We both looked up as Kramisha walked in the room. She didn't say anything, just handed me one of her signature pieces of purple paper covered in her handwriting. I nodded and she left.

Stark came and stood next to me. He looked at me questioningly. I nodded and he came and looked over my shoulder and we read the poem together.

_The claymore is sharp,_

_Strength and security for those who wield it._

_But what happens when possessed by and enemy?_

_Or by one whose heart is unsure?_

_A danger? Or an aid?_

I glanced up at Stark. He didn't look back at me. His face and eyes were worried. Did this poem mean something to him?

"Guys, are you ready? We need to go," Stevie Rae said as she poked her head through the curtain. I nodded and all but pulled Stark from the room. We'd discuss this new poem later.

**So, there it is. I think I'm getting shorter with my chapters. Oh well. Please review. Thanks to everyone who's been reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I've taken so long to update everybody. I haven't had time to write and post at all. This one's pretty short. OK it's really short, but I couldn't think of anything else to put in with this. Plus there's a new, never before seen POV in here. Thanks for sticking with me guys. Again, sorry for the delay. Now go and read this chapter, please. :) **

Chapter 7:

_Stark_

His mind was whirling in circles. The strange way his body had been momentarily out of his control, the murder of those students, Kramisha's poem, repeat. Stark gripped Zoey's hand tighter as Darius drove to the school.

What bothered him most was the way that he felt that the prophetic poem was talking about him, which bothered him more that he was more bothered about his own problems than the three dead teenagers. Which, of course, made him worry more about his own problems. Which only started the cycle all over again.

Stark stifled a sigh. He had to refocus his mind. He glanced at Zoey through his peripheral vision. Her forehead was crinkled up, her face calculating. She was lost deep in thought.

Then Stark, after looking at Zoey, became more worried about her. _What if I hurt her? What if that poem was meant as a warning to her to stay away from me?_

And so it began anew.

_Kramisha_

Kramisha sat quietly in the backseat of the Hummer. Yesterday, the car had been full of chatty fledglings. Today, the ride to the House of Night was silent. The deaths of the Rogers High students had been a hard blow to the group. It had risen up the fears that every one of the red fledglings had, not to mention the grief of the loss of innocent lives.

For Kramisha, the deaths had hit her hard. No one else new much of her past, just that she had grown up in Oklahoma, so no one knew that she had attended Rogers High before she was Marked. She felt the tears begin to slide down her cheeks just thinking about it.

_Oh no you ain't. No way you gonna let them know 'bout your connections._ Too bad telling herself that wouldn't stop the tears.

The names that had flashed across the screen before the reporter came on still haunted her. Dylan James, Kyra Singleton, and Matthew Smith. They were all seniors, her age. Kramisha had grown up with them, been through school with them up until she was Marked their freshman year. The three had been her closest friends and now they were gone. Kramisha could feel her heart breaking.

Kyra. She had been Kramisha's best friend. Even after she was Marked, Kyra had come to visit her at the House of Night. She hadn't cared if Kramisha was human, fledgling, or vampire. To Kyra, Kramisha would always be Kramisha.

Dylan had been Kyra's boyfriend. They had been together since before Kramisha had been Marked. He was a clown and saw humor in any situation. She had always imagined that when he grew old, his face would be covered with laugh lines. Now his face was cold, probably frozen forever with a look of terror in the eyes of her once happy-go-lucky friend.

And Matt. The tears fell more freely down her face as she thought about him and she let them. Matt had been her boyfriend, her first love. He had always made her happy when she was upset, whether she had just been having a bad day or if things weren't good at home. He was her shining star, her personal ray of sunshine. And now he was gone.

Kramisha pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. She let her tears fall into her jeans. Once she thought they were done she lifted her head to see the House of Night looming in the distance.

Her pain was immediately taken over by her immense anger. _They is gonna pay for what they done!_ No one noticed the momentary flash of red that crossed the Poet Laureate's eyes at that instance.

**Yeah like I said, it was short. But I think that Kramisha deserved to have her feelings put out there. Please review, I've enjoyed reading your thoughts.**

**Just so everyone knows, I'm thinking about writing a fanfic for Inuyasha after Destined's done. I'm also thinking about posting a fanfic about Alice Cullen from Twilight that I started about a year and a half ago. No, I am not a Twihard, but Alice is one of my favorite characters. Let me know if you want me to post that or not. I'm turning my PM back on so you can message me if you want to, or you can put your opinion in a review.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Please, please, PLEASE forgive me for not updating faster! I just haven't had time to write much. I made this one longer and added some fluff. And there's another twist. I'm not gonna talk any more so you guys can read this chap.**

Chapter 8:

_Stark_

The students in Zoey's drama class were chatting up a storm. The conversations were so loud and there were so many of them it was hard to keep up with the main topics. Stark tried to understand some snippets, if only to help clear his head.

It seemed as if most of the conversations were revolving around the new Spells and Rituals teacher. Stark couldn't hear a name, but from what he could tell she was a friendly woman. He just hoped she wouldn't fall under Neferet's spell like most of the school already had.

Other conversations were about who the new teacher for this class would be. Since Erik had become a tracker, he couldn't very well teach the class. Not that he was going to anyway; he was way more concerned about becoming "the next Brad Pitt". _Stupid coward, _Stark thought. _At least I'm sticking around, no matter how hard it may be or how dangerous it gets._

What shocked him the most was that no one was talking about the murders of the Rogers High kids. Then again, the fledglings didn't watch much TV during school hours and probably wouldn't see the news until after dinner. He had forgotten that the House of Night, all of them, aired the recorded shows at the fledglings' equivalent to their regular time. But still, this was big news. Big and dangerous news.

Suddenly the door opened. The conversations stopped and every head whipped around to see who was coming in. Stark turned with the rest of them, keeping his hand on Zoey's back. She was the only one who showed no reaction to the new arrival. Stark wondered why, Zoey was normally a very curious girl, just like her cat.

The man was tall with blonde hair that was tied up at the nape of his neck. He wore all black, literally ALL black. His T-shirt was close fitting, emphasizing the muscles in his chest. Even Stark had to admit that the guy was attractive.

He walked up to the front of the class and cleared his throat. Not that he needed to, everyone was gawking at him.

"Good afternoon. My name is Professor Aurox Atlas and I will be your new Drama teacher."

_Zoey_

Ok so the new prof definitely had some serious looks. I bet his hair came down to his shoulders, if not lower, when he took it out of that little ponytail thing. And his eyes. Dang, those eyes would be able to melt ice. They were a soft grayish-blue color, but there was a fire burning in them.

"Alright class today we will be beginning to read Macbeth by Shakespeare," Aurox announced. Wow, his voice was as smooth as butter. "Would you mind passing these out for me?" He asked Becka, who was practically swooning over him.

Aurox began lecturing the class on the basics of Macbeth while Becka was passing out books. I ignored her when she stopped to give me my book since she was, of course, attempting to flirt with Stark. I smiled when the only acknowledgement he gave her was to thank her for the book and wrap his arm around my shoulders.

I took notes on the lecture, but not many. I had read Macbeth previously back at BA, plus I wanted to study Aurox closer. The sapphire tattoos that swirled around his face were simple strings of an ancient script, which made them all the more elegant. It made me miss the simplicity of Sgiach's castle on the Isle of Skye.

But there was something a little off about him. Maybe he was just nervous about being a new teacher, and he had that right. I knew what it felt like to be new and out of place, everyone at the school did. Plus he seemed really young, possibly only having gone through the Change recently. That really wouldn't help his nerves.

Suddenly Stark jumped about a mile out of his seat, breaking me from my thoughts.

_Stark_

His heart was beating wildly. The whole room was staring at him, but he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was the revelation he'd just experienced.

He had been sitting there listening, or more so hearing, the Macbeth lecture. Zoey had taken a few notes and was sitting next to him looking slightly interested. His mind had begun wandering back into the circles it had been running in all day. But instead of going crazy from stress, Stark had tried to find some sort of reason for his issues.

The first thing he had thought of was that he was being possessed. Well, duh, someone wasn't just thrust out of their body and forced to watch it walk around without something controlling it. So, who could enter someone's body?

Kalona. But Kalona could only access a person's mind through their dreams and he really couldn't control them. And besides, Stark knew that Kalona couldn't enter a person's dreams if they were sharing a bed with someone other than a roommate; that was something he had discovered on his own before he had chosen Light. Had Kalona learned a new trick?

No, if the immortal had discovered something he would have used it on Zoey already. So what then?

Stark was wracking his brains for anything plausible. What could make his body go completely out of his control?

Then it hit him. Hard. When Kalona had killed him in Otherworld, Nyx had forced Kalona to give up part of his immortal breath to bring Stark back. Which meant that part of Kalona was in Stark's body. Which also meant that Kalona could possibly control him.

_Oh Goddess, NO!_

_Zoey_

I was staring at Stark. He looked like he was gonna puke his guts up, which is very disgusting. I shook his shoulder gently trying to get him to look at me. No response.

"You alright there?" I hadn't even noticed Aurox walk up. He placed his hand on Stark's shoulder. Stark snapped out of his trance then and looked up. He nodded at Aurox. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I had just been daydreaming and got startled that's all," Stark said. "I'm not a student anymore. I'm Zoey's Warrior," he added noticing Aurox's offended expression. Aurox nodded and patted Stark's back as he turned to walk away. That's when I noticed something about Aurox that I hadn't seen before.

Aurox's hand looked like it had black worms crawling all over it. Of course, I knew they weren't worms. Those black tendrils were something much, much worse. Darkness. The new Drama professor was covered in Darkness.

Uh-oh. Not good.

**Mwahahahaha! I feel pretty good about this one, and slightly evil for making Aurox a teacher, hehe. Please review, your feedback let's me know that someone is reading.**

**Speaking of reviews, I would like to address "Valerie" (sorry if I spelled that wrong). Since you don't have an account and I can't send you a PM, I'll let you know here. I double-checked on Lenobia being killed by Neferet. I wanted to make sure that I hadn't accidentally brought her back to life when she wasn't supposed to be. She did not die, just remained behind at the school to care for the horses even though she is completely behind Zoey and the gang. You may be thinking of Anastasia Lankford who was killed back in Tempted/Burned. Thanks for bringing it up anyway though, it helped me make sure that I wasn't screwing anything up.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Please, pretty PLEASE don't kill me for not updating faster! I'm really sorry *lost puppy face*. Some more Stevie RaeXRephaim fluff. Hope you like it!**

Chapter 9:

_Stevie Rae_

Stevie Rae watched Rephaim's sleeping form. As much as she loved him and loved being able to spend most of the night alone with him, she knew that he needed to sleep. Even though it had only been a couple of days, Stevie Rae had figured out that her former Raven Mocker flew around all day thinking instead of lighting himself in a tree somewhere and taking a good long nap. So she had practically forced him to lie down and get some sleep.

_Well, at least with him sleeping I can have some time alone to think._ Stevie Rae thought. She sat down on the bed next to him and listened to his soft snores. She smiled. He sort of looked like a little kid when he slept. And he looked at peace. He didn't have to worry about any of the crap that was circulating their lives at the moment. At least that's what she thought.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed on the small table next to the bed, snapping her from her thoughts. Confused, Stevie Rae stood up and grabbed it. There was a new text message from Zoey.

_EMERGENCY! Bring the cars to H.O.N NOW!_

Stevie Rae glanced at the clock. It was only lunch time, which the grumble from her stomach confirmed. Confused, she typed back a reply.

_Y? Wats goin on Z? PLEASE tell me that no 1s… well u no._

She hit the send button. Sitting back on the bed, Stevie Rae stared at the earthen wall across from her with her bottom lip between her teeth. _What in the heck is goin' on over there?_

Her stomach complained again. Well, she might as well grab something to eat while she waited for Zoey to respond. Plus, Rephaim was probably hungry too; the guy ate like a horse.

"Rephaim." She shook his shoulder gently. He just grunted at her. So, she shook harder.

"What?" he finally responded in a grumble.

"It's lunch time sleepy-head. Aren't you hungry?"

With that Rephaim flung the blankets off of him and clambered out of the bed. "Why didn't you say that before," he laughed while pulling his t-shirt over his head. He twined his fingers with Stevie Rae's and they began to walk towards the kitchen, her phone clutched tightly in her free hand.

_Rephaim_

He ran his thumb softly over the back of her hand. Stevie Rae was pent up about something. Rephaim figured that something had happened and she had gotten him up for more than lunch.

He hadn't realized that she had stopped until he felt his arm get pulled back by the combination of his forward motion and her stationary position. He turned around to look at her. She had her phone clutched tightly in her right hand, her left squeezing his harder than normal. Her blue eyes were the size of dinner plates and she was shaking like she had hypothermia or something.

Rephaim stood in front of his love and reached his hand up to touch her face. She looked up at him silently.

"What's wrong?"

She handed him the phone, which he took from her shaking fingers. "Just read it." He nodded.

_No, everyone's alive. Things are bad here, way bad. Stark's freakin out and won't talk to me or anybody else. O, and did I mention that Erik's replacement is as covered with icky Darkness as a certain High Priestess is?_

Stevie Rae was staring at him with frightened eyes. His heart was pounding as hard as it possibly could and his stomach dropped. Had Neferet really stooped to this?

"We need to get over there, _now_," he said. He made his voice as urgent as possible, begging her with his eyes to understand the direness of the situation.

She nodded and the two ran off, fingers still clasped, towards the basement, and by extension, the cars.

_Aphrodite_

Aphrodite was running towards the girl's dorm as fast as her long, yet sadly human, legs could carry her. Darius was next to her, keeping her pace. She caught sight of the Twins and Damien running from the field house in the same direction. She heard feet behind her and looked to see the red fledglings following them.

_Zoey must have asked everyone to come here. This is really not good._

Aphrodite saw Zoey and Stark standing at the foot of the dorm stairs. Well Zoey was standing, Stark was pacing around looking…well freaked.

They reached the stairs at the same time as the rest of the Nerd Herd, followed within seconds by red fledglings. Aphrodite was too out of breath to speak at the moment, so she raised one of her gorgeous eyebrows at Zoey.

"We have a problem guys."

"Uh, we kinda figured that Z," said Erin.

"Just, what kind of prob is where we're confused," Shaunee added. Damien and the red fledglings nodded.

"Let's just say that the amount of Darkness in this school has just doubled," Zoey said, her voice shaking. The group fell as silent as death.

**Hehehe, more evilness. Thanks for the reviews guys, keep 'em coming!**

**I need opinions, again. I know I'm overly needy *sigh*. I have about three ideas floating around in my noggin for my Inuyasha story and I don't know which one to start with. Yeah, you guessed it. VOTING TIME!**

**Choice 1**

**Inutaisho has been betrayed by Sesshomaru's mother, his first love. Now he feels alone and worthless. What happens when he meets a young human woman, Izayoi? Will this be the perfect time for revenge on his lost love, or will sparks he never saw coming begin to fly?**

**Choice 2**

**With the incidents that they'd experienced on the new moon before, Inuyasha had decided to send Kagome home at the beginning of the lunar cycle. But this time he was careless. He'd lost track of the days and now look at them. They were trapped, Kagome's life was in danger and it was all his fault.  
**

**Choice 3**

**Kagome was a young and highly skilled priestess. Some even said she was more powerful than her predecessor, Kikyo had been. But inheriting the duty as priestess came with a price. She also had to guard the sacred Shikon Jewel. Now a half-demon keeps coming after her, claiming that she is her dead aunt and trying to steal the jewel. Could a rosary be the answer to her problems or will her heart get in the way of her task?  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! I know I'm slow at updating, but hey I'm only human right? I feel good about this chap so read on!**

Chapter 10:

_Zoey_

Everyone's eyes were staring at me with fear. To be honest, that same fear was shaking me from my very core. Plus Stark was in a worse state than he had been this morning. Had he noticed Aurox's darkness before I had? Or was it something else entirely?

"You mean there's something else here that's in cahoots with Darkness as well?" Damien asked, his voice shaking. That wasn't a big surprise really. The kid was shaking like a leaf as it was. He didn't need this. Ok, none of us needed a new slave of Darkness around, but Damien was still healing from Jack's death. I didn't think that the poor thing couldn't take much more.

"I'll explain once we get back to the tunnels. It's not safe to discuss this here," I said, trying to keep the terror out of my voice and pretty much failing completely. I bounced my phone in my hand waiting for Stevie Rae's text. _Come on Stevie Rae. Hurry up._

I felt something grab my hand. I looked up to see Stark standing next to me. He was gripping my hand for dear life, the bones in my hand screaming from the stress. He was still fidgeting around, like he was afraid to stand still. I squeezed his hand back gently. Stark looked down at me, his eyes pleading. For what though?

My phone buzzed. I gave it a quick glance to make sure it was Stevie Rae before herding the gang towards the secret exit and out of the school grounds. I basically dragged Stark with me to my bug, which Rephaim had miraculously found and stolen back from Dallas and the evil fledglings. The twins and Damien followed us along with Duchess.

"Um, guys I don't think we'll all fit in my car…"

"Don't worry Z," Shaunee piped.

"Duchess can lay in our laps in the back," Erin finished.

"I have to say that the twins are correct. It's not that far of a ride anyways," Damien pointed out. I nodded and we all piled in. I waited until I got the thumbs up from Stevie Rae and Darius, then I pulled out of the lot.

Even though the ride was only about ten minutes, it was definitely stressful. The three teens and one dog in the back were cramped and therefore squirming around like heck. The red vampyre in the passenger seat was still squeezing my hand to death and wouldn't quit fidgeting. And my mind was whirling around making me dizzier than the time that Grandma had taken me to the fair and I rode the Tilt-A-Whirl three times in a row.

Once we reached the depot, everybody scrambled out of the vehicles and climbed down into the tunnels. Stevie Rae and I herded the red fledglings into the kitchen and told them to eat. Then we went to her and Rephaim's room along with Stark, Darius, Aphrodite, Damien, and the Twins. Oh, and the cats and Duchess.

"Zoey," Rephaim said once we were all in the room. I turned and looked at him. "How much do these guys know?"

"Squat," said Aphrodite. I shot her a look that said to shut the heck up.

"I didn't say much back at the school because I didn't think that it was wise," I told the former Raven Mocker.

He nodded. "Then I'll let you explain first."

I nodded. "Alright. Well, as you all know, we needed a new teacher for Drama since Erik is on tracker duty. The new guy started today. His name his Aurox Atlas. At first glance, he seems like a nice and intelligent, not to mention good looking-" Stark scoffed, the first normal thing he had done since he started freaking out. I shot him a glance telling him to keep his opinions to himself before continuing. "Anyway, you get my point. He seemed perfectly normal. That is until I noticed that he was completely covered in Darkness."

Everyone other than Stevie Rae and Rephaim gasped. Well, Stark didn't gasp but he looked at me with a shocked expression.

"So that witch has found herself a new play thing since Kalona left her? Figures." Aphrodite said and rolled her eyes, but beneath her tough girl act, I could see that she was afraid.

"What bothers me," I said, "Is that he came onto the scene so fast. Where'd he come from?"

"I have a theory," Rephaim spoke up. "I just hope I'm wrong." He bit his bottom lip tentatively.

"What is it?" Stevie Rae asked him, squeezing his hand gently.

"Well, Kalona had told me about a technique of creating slaves through Darkness. I think that he was afraid to try it. Apparently it's risky and can go very wrong if it isn't done exactly right."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well what is this technique?"

He sighed. "The idea is to create a soulless being called a Vessel. The soulless part makes it easier to control. In order to create one, you have to make a payment to Darkness. Kalona never told me what kind of payment, but I'm assuming it involves blood, maybe even death, seeing as Darkness always requires a payment of blood for its services."

"So you think that Aurox is a Vessel?" I asked. Rephaim nodded.

"If Kalona wouldn't create a Vessel, then we have to assume that Neferet did," Damien said. "The question is why?"

"Well that's obvious." Erin rolled her eyes. "She wants to replace Kalona."

"And she think that this new guy can get Zoey's attention better than Kalona," Shaunee added.

"Speaking of our winged enemy, have you had any more problems with him in your head Z?" Stevie Rae asked.

I shook my head. Stark squeezed her hand tighter all of a sudden.

"Her head isn't what we need to be worrying about."

"What are you talking about Stark? Kalona has always tried-"

"Listen to me Zoey. I seriously doubt that Kalona is gonna try and get inside your head anymore."

My forehead scrunched up in confusion. What was Stark talking about? "Why would you say that?"

"Because, after Kalona blew his breath into me to keep me alive in Otherworld, he has been able to get into my mind. And he can take over my body and control it."

I felt my mouth drop open. This was bad. Very, very bad.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!_

**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh I feel so evil after that. What will happen now that the Nerd Herd knows about Stark's "predicament"? Oh and there will be more of the Kramisha/dead teenager thing too. Anyways, you know the drill. Happy Easter everyone and I'll post again soon, promise!**_  
_


	11. Chapter 11

**Yay, I finally got in a fast update. I'm switching gears from the Nerd Herd for a moment. Thanks so much for the reviews guys! Free cookies for all of you! *tosses freshly baked and gooey chocolate chip cookies into the air***

Chapter 11:

_Neferet_

The Tsi Sgili sat at her desk in the High Priestess's quarters. She would have much rather been out figuring out what Zoey and her friends were up to rather than sitting here grading papers and tests, but it had to be done. Keeping up the pretense of being the kind-hearted High Priestess was essential to keeping the school under her control.

Suddenly her door burst open. She scowled in the direction of the door. She was not in the mood for unplanned interruptions, or for someone rude enough just to throw open a closed door. Once she saw who was standing in the doorway, Neferet's face relaxed into a soft smile.

"Ah, Aurox. How was your first day?"

The man bit his bottom lip. "I suppose it went well. There was an…erm…incident at one point…" The man said, placing his left hand on the back of his head. Neferet frowned and raised one of her eyebrows. "But it was rather small and I saw nothing of it. Can I take this stuff off?" He gestured to the pencil lines that created his "Marks".

"Don't change the subject. And no you may not. Everyone MUST believe that you are a vampyre and not some insignificant human, or else they might figure out what you really are."

"But it itches…"

"ENOUGH!" Neferet leaned back into her seat and placed a hand over her eyes. Her Vessel was turning out to be more of a fool than she thought he would be. "What was this incident?"

"Well, the red vampyre that you told me about, with the arrows…What was his name? Stallon, Striker, um…"

Neferet sighed. "Stark."

Aurox nodded. "Yeah him. Well, I was in the middle of a lecture and he pretty much went berserk. He jumped about three feet all of a sudden. He said that he just got startled, but he was on edge for the rest of class."

"Is that it?"

"Pretty much, yeah. The Redbird girl was acting weird after that as well, but I guess she was just worried about him. She looked pretty freaked though." The Vessel began chewing on his lower lip again.

"Aurox." He looked up at her. "Quit chewing on your lip, it's annoying."

"Yes ma'am."

"You may leave."

Aurox began to walk out of the room. Then Neferet thought of something.

"Wait." The Vessel stopped in his tracks. "How close did you get to Zoey and the Warrior?"

The man turned around to face her again. "I just went up and put my hand on his shoulder. You want me to keep up pretenses so I had to seem like a caring teacher. Why, is something wrong?"

The Tsi Sgili sighed. Yes he was definitely a fool. _Rational thinking must be an attribute of those with souls. This buffoon clearly has the inability to think._

"It's nothing that concerns you. Leave me." Aurox nodded and left.

Neferet rose from her chair and walked to the window, her hands clasped behind her back. She stood there, contemplating her next move, along with the events that her Vessel had described.

Her Vessel. She sighed again. He was such an idiot. She told him that Zoey could see Darkness. Well this explains why the group had disappeared after their morning classes. Zoey had most likely noticed Aurox's…abnormality and had ushered the group out of the school.

And the Warrior. There was something else going on there. Stark wasn't one to get startled easily. What could've set the boy on edge?

_"I am no longer bound to you. I am no longer a full immortal, so your oath has no bind."_

Of course! Well, Kalona wasn't going to gain much ground with Zoey through the Warrior; they were both too strong for his mental games. He wouldn't mock her with his new found power either. She had a new servant, one who actually obeyed her and would perform his task well, no matter how intelligent he was.

The Tsi Sgili laughed. She let the sound ring throughout her chambers before returning to her desk to finish her work.

_Aurox_

He walked away from Neferet's office, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls. There was no one else around, so the journey to his classroom was quiet. All too soon he reached the door. Opening it quietly, he slipped inside the room. He shut the door behind him and walked to the desk. He sighed as he sat down in the chair. Being a teacher really didn't suit him. Creating lesson plans was tedious enough, imagine the day when he'd half to make a test. Aurox shuddered at the thought.

_I'd much rather be out with normal guys playing pick-up football._

What? Football? Where'd that come from?

Aurox shook off the shock and leaned back in the chair. A small smile began to form on his face. _She must be thinking how big of an idiot I am._ He laughed out loud.

Ok, he should have known not to ask about the lines on his face. But they did bother him and he was constantly worrying that he would either sweat or rub them off. It was rational to want to take them off.

But pretending not to understand the issue with Zoey, that was golden. Of course he realized she had seen Darkness on him. Originally, he hadn't meant to let her see the black and red tendrils that crawled across his body; which still disgusted him contrary to rational belief. He had genuinely been concerned for the Stark kid. After the fact though, he was glad that the strange girl had seen the Darkness. He felt relieved.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? He should feel afraid, not relieved. What was he expecting, her to somehow cleanse him of the almost lifelike worms that wound their way around every inch of him?

Aurox bolted upright. He hadn't realized that he had been slouched down in the chair until then, but he didn't really care about that. He had just figured out what he really wanted, and it wasn't the power that Neferet had promised him or the glory that Darkness subconsciously assured him he would get.

He wanted freedom. Freedom from the Tsi Sgili and freedom from his unseen prison. And he needed Zoey to help him.

_But how can I convince her to help me?_

**YAY! Let's hope this isn't some kind of trap...but I doubt it. Hehehe... Anyways you guys know the drill! I love you all!**_  
_


	12. Chapter 12

**Yay! I have over 50 reviews now! Thanks so much you guys! I got kinda fluffy with this one, but not couplely fluffy. Go on and read and you'll see what I mean. ( Was it just me, or did I just remind myself of Dr. Suess?)**

Chapter 12:

_Rephaim_

The entire room was quiet. Mouths were hanging open in shock and Stark looked absolutely petrified. No one could find the will to say anything.

Then the floodgates were opened. Sentences were jumbled together in an indecipherable mess. He couldn't understand anything. Everyone was shouting and asking questions at the same time. He and Zoey were the only ones, besides Stark, who were quiet; the young Priestess just kept staring at her Guardian. In all of the commotion, no one noticed the former Raven Mocker slip out the door.

Rephaim walked away from the room. Once he thought that he was a good distance away, he began to sprint. He didn't stop until he reached the ladder that led to the basement. He could hear the voices of the red fledglings in the kitchen, so he ascended the ladder quietly.

Once he had entered the depot, Rephaim jogged to the men's locker room. He stood still and listened before entering; he really wanted to be alone. He walked in and flipped on one of the many showers. He hadn't really planned on taking a shower, but he felt the sudden urge for one. He undressed quickly and practically fell into the stall. He let the water pound his back and burn his skin while he berated himself with guilt.

He had known that Kalona could enter Stark's head, the fallen Warrior had told him himself. He had been there when Kalona had first entered the Guardian's mind while he and Zoey had been on the Isle of Skye. Rephaim leaned against the wall and pounded his fist on the smooth tile._ I should have seen this coming! Why didn't I realize that this would happen? Why didn't I just say something?_

_ "It's because you didn't think that this was possible," _said a kind, gentle voice in his head. It sounded slightly female, but he didn't pay that much attention to the sound of it. It was unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

"Shut up," he said into the wall. There was no one else in here and he didn't feel like arguing with an imaginary voice, seeing as it wasn't Stevie Rae.

_"Stop this. You're being senseless."_

"I said SHUT UP!" Rephaim yelled. His voice echoed off the walls of the locker room. He didn't care if anyone had been out in the hall, he just didn't. He was being destroyed by his own guilt and the voice was eating away at his sanity.

_"That's no way to talk to your mother, darling."_

Rephaim's head shot up, his long, wet hair slapping him in the back and face. "What?"

"You heard me right, my son." The voice had changed. It was no longer in his head, but had come from behind him. Rephaim shut off the water and spun around. Just outside of the shower stall was a young Cherokee woman with long, black hair that matched his own. She was dressed in a simple deerskin dress and her feet were bare. She had a kind face with soft brown eyes.

"Mother?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, Rephaim. I am your mother, Chandrika."

Rephaim ran up to the woman and embraced her, completely forgetting that he was dripping wet and naked. His mother was here! She was really here!

"You're alive," he whispered. Tears were streaming down his face.

"Not exactly. The Goddess allowed me to come to you so that I might comfort and reassure you, my child. But for all intents and purposes, yes I am living." Rephaim began to sob at her words, his shoulders shaking with the force of his cries. He hadn't met her when she was alive. She had died shortly after giving birth to him, and besides, Kalona had stolen him away the day he was born. But for this one moment, she was alive and here with him.

"I should have expected this to happen. I knew he could enter his mind, I just didn't think that-" His voice broke as he sobbed onto Chandrika's shoulder, his guilt returning in triple strength.

"Shh," she cooed. She rubbed soothing circles on his back. "Rephaim, you couldn't have possibly known that your father was capable of such a feat. No one could have until it actually happened. Stop blaming yourself."

"But I—I can't."

"Yes you can." Chandrika lifted Rephaim's head up so that his golden eyes would meet his chocolate ones. "You have done nothing wrong and have nothing to be ashamed of."

He shook his head. "You have no idea what I've done to be ashamed of. I was terrible and corrupted and-"

"And you were forgiven," his mother said. "You chose Light and I am so proud of you, my little _ta-tsu-wa_." **(Ta-tsu-wa= one of the Cherokee words for Raven.)**

"I love you, mother."

"And I you, Rephaim." Rephaim saw her body begin to fade, heard her voice become fainter.

"No!" he cried. "Please don't leave me!"

_"I will never leave you, little _ta-tsu-wa_. I am always with you."_

Rephaim put back on his clothes after Chandirka's voice faded away. He left the locker room and went back to the tunnels, his spirits lifted despite the destruction and pain circling the lives of him, his love, and the people that he considered his family.

**Aww. Ok, I just had to include Rephaim's mama. I thought about Stevie Rae comforting him, but then thought that bringing in his mother would be a good idea. Her name also means "moonlight" which I thought was appropriate. Let me know if you like her character and want to see more of her. See you guys next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**IIII'mmmm baaaacccckkkk. Ok that was my lame attempt at being creepy, even though this isn't a creepy chapter. I'm back on the Kramisha/Evil fledglings thing now mixed in with the other stuff. Enjoy!**

Chapter 13:

_Kramisha_

She sat at one of the small tables in the kitchen, pushing her Chef Boyardee spaghetti around on her plate with her fork. The red fledglings were talking about what Zoey meant about double Darkness at the House of Night. Some thought it was that Kalona was really in hiding somewhere and still working with Neferet while others thought that maybe Neferet had just gotten worse. And those were just two of the theories circulating.

_They's all forgot 'bout earlier,_ Kramisha thought as she got up to dump her plate. Her already diminished appetite was gone. As if her grief wasn't making her sick enough, seeing everyone acting like it was a normal, or at least normal for their lives, day just made it worse. She walked quickly from the room, without anyone being the wiser.

She walked down the hall to her room. As she walked past the ladder moving to the basement, she could hear footsteps up above. She stopped in her tracks. It was probably nothing, but it could be one of _them._ Making up her mind, Kramisha quickly and quietly scrambled up the ladder.

She climbed out from behind the grate and into the depot. Grabbing a heavy pipe from the floor, Kramisha backed into a dark corner where she wouldn't be seen. She held the pipe like a baseball bat, ready to charge and swing at whoever was out there. Though if it was Dallas, he could just grab onto the pipe and zap her straight into Otherworld. She hadn't thought about that. _Too late now,_ she thought grimly.

Shuffling suddenly came from further inside the depot. Kramisha tensed, her feet spreading into a good stance to run up and swing. Poet Laureate she may be, but she had a good swing. Her gang had all played ball together as kids, and eventually her and Kyra had played softball while Dylan and Matt had played baseball. Her throat swelled and she found it hard to breathe at the memories. Kramisha shook the feeling off; she could grieve later, right now she had to defend herself.

Then she saw him. A figure began to emerge from the hall. Without a second thought, Kramisha charged, a vicious war cry tearing from her lips. Once she thought she was close enough, she reared the pipe back.

"WAIT!"

Kramisha stopped mid-swing when she heard the voice. The figure stepped closer to her, cautiously. His figure became clear and she dropped the pipe, the clang echoing throughout the hall.

"Rephaim?"

The Cherokee man nodded, his wet hair falling into his face as he did so. "Yeah, it's me. Why are you charging at me with a rusty pipe?"

"I was headin' back to my room and I's thought I heard footsteps. If it were one of … the others, there is no freakin' way that I was gonna let them back here."

"I understand. Though I highly doubt that they'll be back, not after what you guys and Stevie Rae did to them. Is everyone done eating already?"

Kramisha shook her head. "Naw, just me. They's got a whole lot less goin' on."

"What do you mean by that?"

_Crap._ "Nuthin'."

"Kramisha, I know I'm probably not the person you want to talk about whatever this is about, but you do realize that you can trust me right?" Kramisha nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She bit her lip. Did she? Maybe. Definitely not with the fledglings or Zoey or Stevie Rae, or any of their friends. They wouldn't understand.

Kramisha burst into tears and fell on her rear on the depot floor. Her sobs racked her body and her breathing was jumping all over the place. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Rephaim kneeling in front of her, golden eyes full of concern. Kramisha threw her arms around him. She decided then and there that she wanted him to know. She felt like he was the big brother she never had and was the only person that she could confide in.

So that's what she did. In between sobs, Kramisha told the former Raven Mocker about how Kyra, Dylan, and Matt had been her closest friends. She told him about how they had grown up together and how their deaths had practically destroyed her. She confessed her desperate need for revenge and that she hadn't wanted anyone to know that this was hitting her so hard. He just sat there and listened, which she thought was the best thing he could have done for her.

Once she was done, Kramisha remembered something from earlier. "Did Z give ya'll a poem earlier?"

Rephaim raised an eyebrow. "No, she never mentioned one. Why?"

"I gived her one before we left, so I's just wonderin'…"

"Can you remember what it was?"

"Hold on, I always keeps a copy on me." Kramisha dug around in her pocket until she found the folded piece of purple paper. She handed it to Rephaim. He took it from her and unfolded it. His golden eyes scanned the paper. When he finished, he looked up at her, his eyes determined.

"I think we need to remind Zoey about this."

"Why? She already gots-"

"I know, but I think that she probably forgot about this and it's extremely important."

_Stevie Rae_

The red vampyre stood next to her BFF, trying to consol her and Stark. Plus she was freaking out 'cause Rephaim had vanished.

"Listen, we'll figure this out." Zoey nodded. Stark, however, didn't look convinced. Stevie Rae couldn't blame him, he was the one with the crazy immortal in his head.

"Yeah, well in case you didn't notice bumpkin, Zoey's Guardian is freakin' out cause he's practically got the essence of evil inside him. Oh, and we have Neferet's evil little slave to deal with now," Aphrodite snarled. She seemed to be the angriest about the situation, but Stevie Rae figured that's how the preppy blonde handled stress.

"Aphrodite, you're really NOT helping," Damien said.

Darius nodded. "He's right darling, we have to stay optimistic about this."

"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not an optimistic person."

"Trust us," Erin started.

"We've noticed," Shaunee finished.

It was at that point that Rephaim reentered the room, Kramisha following him. Before Stevie Rae could even react to his return, he came and wrapped his arm around her waist and spoke to Zoey.

"Do you remember the poem that Kramisha gave you earlier?"

The girl smacked herself on the forehead. "Dang! I completely forgot!"

While Zoey shoved her hand in her pocket after the poem, Stevie Rae addressed the Poet Laureate. "You wrote another poem?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, before breakfast."

"Here it is!" Zoey exclaimed as she pulled the piece of paper from her jeans.

"Well don't just stand there, read it!" Aphrodite all but shouted. Zoey nodded and began to read.

"_The claymore is sharp,_

_Strength and security for those who wield it._

_But what happens when possessed by and enemy?_

_Or by one whose heart is unsure?_

_A danger? Or an aid?_"

"Well the first part makes sense. Stark's clearly the claymore and he's being possessed by Kalona," Aphrodite said. _She needs to learn some restraint. And anger management._ Stevie Rae thought.

"Yeah, but what about the rest of it?" Damien asked. No one had an answer.

**I like the idea of Kramisha looking up to Rephaim. I feel like she's kind of a loner. And just so everyone knows, my Inuyasha fic is up now with two chapters. It's called _The Last New Moon_ and I'm going to try to update both of the stories around the same time. Review purty please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in like, forever! Please don't hate me! I got busy, didn't have internet for practically two weeks, then I had writer's block on top of that. So again, sorry! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I put some action in it.**

Chapter 14:

_Zoey_

I stood there leaning against the bed. The room was blanketed with an uncomfortable silence. It was so quiet that I thought that if someone didn't say something that I was going to suffocate from the weight of it.

Stark was shifting constantly beside me. I squeezed his hand, trying desperately to comfort him. He squeezed back, but I knew that it was just an acknowledgement of my attempt. Mentally, I sighed. How could I comfort him when he was so…out there?

I glanced over at Stevie Rae. She was gnawing on her bottom lip, her biggest nervous habit. Her blue eyes looked worried and she seemed to be gripping Rephaim's waist a little too tightly.

Actually, everyone seemed to be extremely worried, even Aphrodite. The only one who didn't look worried was Rephaim. He seemed to be calculating, as if he was racking his brains for a solution. Then I realized he probably was. _Zoey you're being stupid! Of course he's trying to figure a way out of this. After all, he's the one who know the most about Kalona._ I knew the voice in my head was right, I just didn't feel like listening to it, so I told it to shut the heck up.

I felt Stark squeeze my hand. I looked up at his worried face. My heart ached even more for him at the sight of the clutter of emotions on his face. "I need some air," he stated and walked out of the room.

"Stark, wait!" I called, jogging towards the door after him. I ran into an arm that was blocking my path. I looked up to see Darius looking down at me. I turned forward again and began shoving against his arm. Yes, I realize it was a futile effort but I needed to make sure that Stark was OK.

"Zoey." I stopped struggling and stared up into the warrior's face. "He needs to be alone so he can sort things out." I nodded and went back to sit on the bed.

"I'm worried about him."

"We know that, Z but this is affecting him more than it is any of us," Erin told me.

"Yeah, just imagine what's going through his head right now," Shaunee said. I nodded, but it didn't ease my mind, just made it worse.

_Stark_

The clattering of metal rang throughout the basement as the trash can rolled to a stop on the other side of the room. Stark grabbed the hair at the back of his head, growling at the back of his throat. He sat down against the wall and pulled his head to his knees. His breathing hitched and his eyes stung until he couldn't hold it in any longer.

Stark sobbed in rage and confusion, with some pain mixed in. He grabbed a block of wood from beside him. "AHHHHH!" he yelled as he chucked it across the room. The ring of metal rang through the air again.

"Why?" he muttered. "Why me? Why did you let him do this to me, Nyx? Why risk Zoey's life like this? WHY?" His last cry echoed around the room. Stark threw his head back down in his hands, his mind begging for a solution.

Then he felt a presence. It was small, like it was merely testing itself. It was also being very intrusive. Stark wondered if maybe Zoey had found some way to communicate with him using the bond created by his Warrior Oath, the presence was slightly familiar. It pressed farther into his mind, forcing its way in.

_Ok, that's definitely NOT Zoey_, Stark thought as the presence grew in strength. Then he felt the same sensation he had felt before being thrust from his body.

"NO!" he shouted at the top his lungs as he realized what was happening. "I am not letting you control me! Not again!"

Stark grasped his head and began to push against the growing presence that was forcing its way into his mind.

_Zoey_

I was pacing around the room frantically. I had sat down for about ten minutes before my anxiety got the better of me. I stopped pacing and grabbed at my hair, growling in my throat.

"Whoa, Z! Calm down, you're glowing brighter than the Northern Lights!"

I glance over in Damien's direction before looking at myself. He was right; my body was emitting a distinct purple glow. There was also a strong wind circling me; probably the reason Damien had to shout. I closed my eyes and took three calming breaths, centering myself. I felt my hair and clothes settle back down against me as the wind calmed down. When I opened my eyes, the purple glow was gone.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Some of my friends acknowledged my apology, but they were small and insignificant at the moment. Even centered, I couldn't stop worrying about Stark. I thought about resuming my pacing, but it would just put me back into my glowing Element Girl state. I started towards the door. Darius moved in front of me, blocking my path.

"Move out of the way, Darius."

"Zoey, I don't th-"

"I don't care Darius," I said, cutting him off. "I need to know if Stark's alright or not. Plus my instincts are telling me that he needs me."

Darius stood there for a minute as I glared at him. Finally, he sighed and moved out of my way. I walked out of the room and down the hall. Things were quiet; I couldn't even here the blabbering from the kitchen. I guess the red fledglings had all gone back to their rooms. As I passed the ladder that led to the basement, I could hear a ruckus from the top of the ladder. Quietly, I ascended the ladder.

Slowly I crawled out from behind the grate into the basement. What I saw threw me into a panic. Stark was thrashing around the basement, both of his hands grasping the sides of his head. I watched as he fell against the wall next to him, grunting and squirming the entire time.

"STARK!" I cried out to him. He glanced up, his face twisted, scrunched, and covered in sweat. Horror flashed across his face when he saw me, along with…anticipation?

"Zoey, no! Stay away from me!"

"What! Why? What in the heck is going on?"

"It's him," Stark groaned, sinking down into a kneeling position and grasping his head tighter. "He's trying to get into my head again. GAAAHHH!"

Hearing his cry, I ran over to him. There was no way that I was going to let him fight Kalona on his own! I grabbed his shoulders, trying to steady him so he could fight the battle that was raging in his mind.

"Zoey, what are you doing! I told you to get away from me!"

"You don't have to face this alone, Stark! And I'm not going to let you!" I practically screamed at him. He looked up at me, his eyes a mix of emotions. Suddenly his eyes snapped shut and he cried out again.

I could feel myself shaking. I was terrified for Stark. I didn't think he could take much more of the mental beating that I could tell he was receiving.

Slowly, I took three cleansing breaths for the second time that evening. Then I dove into the place within me that I knew allowed me to access the elements.

"Air, you've helped us so much before in the past. You always know exactly where to go. I ask that you share your sense of direction with Stark so that he knows how to fight for his mind." I felt wind caress my face as air went to guide my Guardian.

"Water, you have healed and relaxed us time and time again. Please help Stark's body to relax so that he can focus on the task at hand." I watched, as well as felt, Stark relax. His hands moved from his head to my waist, though his face was still twisted with concentration.

I moved to the next element in the circle. "Fire, your power is immense and you have pulled us out of multiple sticky situations. Lend Stark some of that power to fight this enemy." Stark's face began to relax slightly as fire's power filled him.

"Earth, you are one of our strongest allies. I ask for you to give Stark some of you strength so that he can stand his ground against this force of Darkness." I watched as Stark let a small smirk cross his face. His hands gripped my waist tighter and he scrunched up his eyes as he pushed against Kalona.

"Spirit, my old friend, we need your help. Give Stark the extra push he needs to send Kalona packing." Stark's body tensed up in concentration.

"YAAHH!" He yelled as he shoved against Kalona one last time. His eyes flew open and he was gasping for breath. I felt him wrap his arms around me as he slumped against me. I hugged him tightly to me, feeling the shivers that were wracking his body pass through my own.

"It's over, Stark. It's over." I mumbled to him over and over again. _Well, for now at least._

**No, the Kalona issue is not over with, just to get that out there. What'll happen when he decides to act next and what is the fallen Warrior thinking about this new resistence? We'll see...**

**Fun fact: When I was looking up the Cherokee word for raven back when I did the chapter with Rephaim's mom, there were a couple different ones. One of them was _ka-lo-na_. Freaky, right?  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm baaaccckkk... hehe, was I creepy? Ok fine, that was lame. So here we have some evil planning and some ZoeyXStark fluff. Yay fluff!**

Chapter 15:

_Kalona_

The immortal bolted upright, his wings unfurling around him. He was bristling, his unease showing in the anger in his eyes and the shuffling of his black wings. He was panting from the battle that had just ensued.

"Issss ssssomething wrong Father?" said the Raven Mocker next to him. Kalona turned his head to look at his second son, Ashwin. He sighed. Ashwin was intelligent and strong, but none of his sons compared to Rephaim. _No! He is dead to me! The little traitor…_

"Leave me," he commanded. Ashwin squawked in affirmation and left in a rustle of feathers. Kalona rose to his feet and began to pace around the clearing that he had been lying in.

_How?_ he asked himself. _How did that insolent little twit fight me off?_ He recalled seeing Zoey before the Warrior had pushed him out enough that he lost his sight. _Of course! She used her affinities on me. Or asked them to help him._

Kalona groaned. Just when he had thought that he had gained a foothold in getting her, she had bested him yet again. It happened every time, he thought he had her, then she gets away. Why couldn't she just give in to him and succumb to his will?

_There has to be a way…_ Then Kalona began chuckling. There was a way, but it would have to be outside of the minds of the little Redbird and her friends. For the moment.

"Ashwin!" the immortal called. The Raven Mocker came and landed in front of him with a rustle of wings.

"Yesssss Father?"

"Fly to Tulsa and find a place called Rogers High School. Find the red fledglings who reside there and tell them to meet me here. I have a proposition for them."

Ashwin nodded before taking off and flying south. Once he was gone, Kalona laughed. He laughed a dark, menacing laugh that would make any lesser being cringe in fear.

_Zoey_

I helped Stark climb down the ladder and back into the tunnels. He slumped against me and I grunted. My Guardian was whipped and about to collapse and I was glad he was ok, but dang he was heavy! I hoisted him up a little more and trudged down the hall. At least he was trying to help by dragging his feet.

"Zoey…" Stark moaned.

"Yeah," I grunted, readjusting him so that I could walk better.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For saving me," he groaned. I grunted back at him. It was the best that I could manage under his weight.

I reached our door before I couldn't go any farther. I felt like my legs were about to give out on me. Somehow I managed to get us through the door and to the mattress before I collapsed. Stark groaned when we hit the mattress. I just laid there with my face buried against the softness.

I felt Starks arms wind around me. Then he pulled me to his chest. I gasped slightly at the suddenness of his actions, but I wasn't going to complain. He squeezed me gently and buried his face in my hair. I wrapped my arms around his chest and hugged him back. I could hear his heart beating, strong and rhythmic, beneath my head.

"Zoey?" Stark murmured. His breath was warm against my scalp and it blew my hair gently.

"Hm?"

"You know I love you, right?"

I laughed slightly. "Of course I know. How could I not?"

I felt Stark shrug beside me. "I guess I was just wondering. Sometimes I don't understand how you insist on being with me."

I scooted up so that I could stare into his face. He had dark circles under his eyes; he looked downright pooped actually. His eyes were distant though, worried.

"Stark, I love you. Nothing will ever change that, I promise."

"But I don't understand why. Why do you love me and why do you want to be with me knowing what I am and what I have done?"

I lay there for a moment pondering my response. I would have to word my answer very carefully so that he would understand. "Well, there are several reasons. One is that underneath your hard shell, you're a soft, kindhearted man who cares for me. The real me, not Elemental Zoey or Priestess Zoey but the Zoey I am and was before all this ever happened."

"Is that why you loved Heath?"

"Yes and no. Heath did care for who I was, but he was also my only connection to my old life other than Grandma. Before I Imprinted with him for the first time, he had gone from a sweet guy to a drunken pot head. It wasn't until after I drank his blood that he reverted back into the Heath that I knew and loved." I felt a tear slide down my cheek as I remembered all those times that Heath and I had spent together.

Stark's thumb ran over my jaw line, catching that lone tear as it rolled down my face. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to make you upset, I was just curious."

"No, it's fine, don't apologize," I said. I took his hand and squeezed it gently in mine before interlacing our fingers. "Back to my original thought; I love you because you're you and no one else. You're strong and a softy at the same time and you don't care what anybody else thinks about you, well at least not too much." I paused before I added, "Stark, from the moment I met you I felt some kind of connection between us. I couldn't put my finger on it then, but now I think I know what it is."

"And what would that be?" Stark asked as I stared into his brown eyes; eyes that were so soft and gentle that it was unbelievable that they were the eyes of a Warrior, a Guardian.

"You're my soul mate, Stark, plain and simple, no questions asked," I told him. "That's why I love you."

"I agree," he said, a hint of his signature smirk on his lips. "You're my soul mate too, my love." Then he kissed me, deep and passionate, but not overpowering either.

Then my Guardian fell asleep in my arms and rested peacefully until sunset the next night.

**What could Kalona be planning on using the red fledglings for? Will they comply with his wishes? Why am I asking all these questions? Oh well, guess we'll find out soon. Hoped you all liked my fluffy moment! Anyway R&R por favor!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello again, my avid readers! Are you ready for some evil? Because I sure am! Get ready for an evil alliance of epic proportions, at least I consider it epic.  
**

Chapter 16:

_Kalona_

The immortal leaned against a tree, his wings folded gently against his back. His arms were crossed across his bare chest and his long hair hung loose around his face. His eyes were closed as he breathed in the cool night air, attempting to stay calm. He was a very impatient person and what little patience he had was starting to run thin. _What's taking Ashwin so long? If he doesn't hurry up, who knows when I'll be able to talk to those fledglings. And it's prudent that I do._

Soon, he heard a rustling of feathers followed by a thrashing through the forest. He opened his eyes just in time to see Ashwin land in front of him.

"Did you bring them?" he asked, gold eyes glaring down at the Raven Mocker.

"Yessss," said Ashwin. "Did you doubt me?"

"You gave me enough reason to," Kalona muttered. He didn't have time to say more for at that moment a group of teens revealed themselves from the cover of the trees. Though he didn't show it, the immortal was shocked at the amount of Darkness-reveling fledglings. He had never realized that there were this many of them. They were all shifting around, but unlike the Red One's fledglings who flitted around nervously, these fledglings were…different. Their red eyes were predatory; their muscles were tensed and ready to pounce.

Kalona pushed himself off of the tree and stepped forward. "Who's your leader?" he asked the entire group. The fledglings moved aside to allow someone from the middle to step up.

"I am," the boy said, arms crossed. Kalona took the moment to look him over. His face was framed with a red tattoo consisting of lightning bolts springing out from the crescent on his forehead. His most striking feature was his eyes. Where the others' were their natural color with a tint of red; his were the opposite, red with just the slightest hint of brown.

"And you are?"

"Name's Dallas. I'm the only Changed vamp among us and therefore, leader of our little group," he explained, an evil smirk plastered on his face. "So, why did you ask us to come here?"

"I have a little…proposition for you and your fledglings," Kalona said, eyeing the boy's expressions.

"Then start talking," Dallas said. "We only have three and a half hours until sunrise and it took us over an hour to hike here."

Kalona glared at him before speaking. "I am very much aware of your predicament. Believe me; you'll be back in your little high school basement before dawn rolls around."

"We better be."

"Hn, then I suppose we should get started then," the immortal stated, allowing just a little bit of malice creep into his voice. Some of the fledglings shifted or growled, but Dallas held his ground. _You are a tough one aren't you?_ he thought. "How much do you hate the Red One's fledglings?"

Dallas laughed menacingly. "More than you can imagine."

"And why do you hate them?"

"The reasons differ from person to person," the vampyre said. "Some hate them because they can, some hate them just because they enjoy hating in general. As for the rest of us, it's personal." He snarled the last part and clenched his fist._ Obviously you have some personal reasons. Maybe I can play off that…_

"How would you like to get revenge and destroy them?"

Dallas's eyes widened before abruptly narrowing into slits. "What are you suggesting?"

Kalona smirked. "I need you to create a distraction for me. You need to keep the red and blue fledglings busy while I take out Zoey Redbird."

"We aren't your toys," Dallas growled at the immortal, his fledglings following suit. "Besides, I have no vendetta against the blue fledglings."

"But I can tell that you don't like them either," Kalona stated flatly Dallas just stared at him. "Neither do the rest of your fledglings, boy."

"I believe that our feelings regarding the blue ones are irrelevant in this situation," the boy sneered.

"Fine, I'll allow Ashwin and his brothers to take care of them," Kalona conceded. He normally didn't make deals, but he needed Dallas's cooperation. "Will you be willing to occupy the red fledglings or not?"

"That depends," Dallas said. "What's in it for us?"

Kalona chuckled darkly. "Well, of course there's the obvious: you can get all of the revenge your little dark hearts' desire on the red ones." There were some anticipated murmurs running throughout the group and Dallas smirked. "Plus," the immortal continued, "I will make sure that you have free reign over the humans of Tulsa. I'll make it so that you can kill to your hearts' content and no one will stop you."

"And what if we don't succeed in helping you defeat Zoey? You just gonna drop us like we're nothing and move on?" Dallas asked with a sneer. "Because if that's the case, you can forget about getting our help; we'll find our own way of getting revenge on Stevie Rae and the fledglings."

_This boy is getting on my nerves._ "Very well. In the case of defeat, I will provide you with a shelter that is better than living in a basement and supplies." Dallas raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied. "I will also ensure that you have the ability to find…nourishment when you need it."

Dallas shot a glance backwards towards the trees. He turned back to face the immortal. "Fine, we'll take it. But if you go back on your word, I promise that Zoey will be the least of your worries," he warned, eyes flashing with malice. Then he relaxed slightly and asked, "Now, what do we need to do?"

"The plan is simple," Kalona explained. "You and your fledglings cause enough commotion to draw the red and blue fledglings out of their precious tunnels. While they are preoccupied with you all, I strike their heart, Zoey."

Dallas nodded. "Sounds simple enough. I only have one condition though for during this battle though." Kalona raised an eyebrow at him, he was only so giving. But the support of these fledglings was necessary. He gestured for Dallas to continue. "Stevie Rae is mine and no one else's. I'm going to be the one to finish her off."

_So his vendetta lies with the Red One,_ the immortal thought. "Very well," he said. "The Red One will be yours and yours alone."

"Thank you," Dallas said. "So when does this plan go into action?"

"Tomorrow night. I want you to cause as much havoc as possible every night, starting tomorrow, until they come out of hiding."

"Any specifics on this havoc you want us to reach?" the vampyre asked.

Kalona shook his head. "No. How you draw them out is up to you and your fledglings."

Dallas laughed a cold and menacing laugh. "Well then, let the games begin."

**Mwahahahahaha! I sense some trouble brewing in Tulsa. Hehehe, I'm evil. Hahaha, until next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

**New chapter, whoop whoop! Switching plot points (again) since this aspect hasn't been seen for a while. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Key:**

_Thoughts_

_"Someone else other than the POV character"_**  
**

Chapter 17:

_Aurox_

The buzzing of his digital alarm clock woke him up right at sunset. He slammed his hand on the infernal device to make it shut up. He didn't really understand why Neferet had insisted on getting him one; he could wake up just fine on his own. Or maybe she just thought that it would help him to be punctual since he was teaching rather than risking him oversleeping. Honestly, Aurox didn't really care that much, the thing was just annoying.

Throwing the blankets off, Aurox got up and stretched out his sore, sleep-ridden muscles. He picked up his t-shirt from off of the floor and pulled it over his head as he walked to his personal kitchen. He had to admit that living in the teacher's quarters at the House of Night had its perks; he hadn't seen the penthouse for two days. He opened the fridge and grabbed the milk for a bowl of cereal, which had been left out yesterday.

As he ate, Aurox thought about how refreshed he felt this evening. And it was more than a good day's sleep too, there was something more. He glanced down at the hand lying next to his bowl, watching as the small, smoky tendrils crawled across it. For some reason, he no longer felt disgusted by the red and black threads that covered him and seemed to pulse like they were living, breathing creatures. Then he did something that he hadn't thought he would do, he smiled softly down at the Darkness.

"You know, you're not as bad as I first thought you were," he said out loud. He was alone, no one heard him. Somehow, as he slept he had accepted Darkness for what it was and seemed to enjoy its presence.

_"What are you talking about? We HATE Darkness!"_

Aurox dropped his spoon into his bowl, which made a large clinking sound and splashed milk all over him and the table. That voice in his head, it wasn't him and it certainly wasn't Neferet. _Who are you?_ he asked, feeling awkward about talking to nothing. Vessel or not, it was still a sign of insanity to be talking to nothing.

_"I…don't really know, actually. Let's call me your conscious for now."_

_ For your information, I am a Vessel. I have no soul or conscious. I was created out of blood and Darkness itself._

_ "If you have no soul, how can you think?"_

_ Just because I don't have a soul doesn't mean that I don't have a consciousness. Haven't you ever heard of Atheism? I'm the epitome of what that believe._

_ "Hm, good point, I guess. But, I don't believe that your state of existence really matters at the moment."_

_ Oh really? Then what really matters at the moment?_

_ "The fact that all of a sudden, YOU are no longer blanching at the grossness crawling all over us."_

_ I got over it. And by the way, when did YOU get in MY head? You weren't here before._

_ "Oh yes I was, you just didn't realize it because we actually had the same opinion of…THAT!"_ As soon as his unwanted visitor said that, he got a vision of the tendrils of Darkness.

_So what? I changed my mind, seeing as it is MY mind; you're just an unwanted houseguest._

_ "Unwanted houseguest! I told you, I've been here since you were freakin' born, you idiot!"_

_ Hmph, whatever. I don't really give a crap about how or when you got here, I just want you to leave._

_ "Nope, not happenin'."_

_ Fine. Will you at least shut up until I can get through classes?_

_ "… I'll think about it."_

Sighing, Aurox got up and placed his bowl in the sink before going to take a shower. This was not what he needed today. He had just accepted what he was and he had to come up with some excuse for the Darkness Zoey Redbird had seen yesterday so her and her friends wouldn't be suspicious and would trust him.

_"Well, at least you kept that part of our humanity."_

_ What the heck are you talking about?_ Aurox asked the voice as he started the shower. He stripped as he waited for the water to heat up.

_"Zoey. You still want to be on her side."_

_ Ha! Yeah right! Are you nuts or something?_

_ "Maybe, maybe not. Depends on who you ask; you're the one whose talking to a voice in your head."_

_ You just had to bring that up, didn't you?_

_ "Yep!"_ After that, Aurox tuned the annoyance out. He stepped into the shower and let the water run down his back before washing. He stepped out and dried off. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked over to the sink. He ran a brush through his long, tangled hair and brushed his teeth. Then he picked up the blue eyeliner pencil and began to trace along the faded lines of his "Mark" which had partially washed off in the shower. Once he was satisfied, he walked back to the bedroom to get dressed.

He yanked on a pair of black jeans and pulled a white t-shirt over his head. He then found a black dress shirt hanging in his closet and slipped it on, leaving it unbuttoned. Then, he shrugged on a black zip-up jacket overtop; the shirt was long-sleeved but it was still January outside.

_"What's with the all black wardrobe? You never wear anything with color."_

Aurox sighed. His guest was really starting to get on his nerves. _I happen to like black, thank you very much. And yes I do wear color,_ he said as he walked out of his apartment and down the stairs

_ "The blue and green plaid pajama pants don't count, bub."_

_ Whatever. Can you leave now? I have class._

_ "Who cares about class? Just take a nap, it's what I would do."_

_ As appealing as that sounds,_ Aurox said as he opened the door to the main building, feeling the rush of artificially heated air wash over him. _I can't. I have to teach. You can sleep though._

_ "I might just do that."_ And with that, the voice settled down and relaxed in a back corner of Aurox's mind. Sighing with relief, he opened the door to his classroom and walked up to his desk at the front. He yanked his lecture out of the top drawer and set it on the desk. He was discussing the effect that the witches' prophecy has on audiences when _Macbeth_ is performed.

He had barely sat down when the students began to enter the room and take their seats. He waited for everyone to sit down before he stood up and began the lesson.

_"Holy crap, that's a lot of kids! This is going to be a long day!"_ If the mental voice and had a face, Aurox could only imagine the WTH face that it would have.

Mentally sighing, he replied, _You're telling me._

**Guess whose baacckk! Well sort of. Let's see how this will play out...but first, review please!**_  
_


	18. Important Author's Note

**Hey guys!**

**I have to say that all of my stories are going on hiatus for a while. I'm really sorry, but I'm going to be out of the country for a week and won't have access to a computer. Plus, I'll be getting ready to start school once I get back so I don't know how much time I'll have to write and update. I'm so sorry to have to do this. Please don't stop reading because of this! I love you all and am going to miss seeing all of the reviews and favs you guys give me with each update!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, I'm back!**

**Before you read the chapter, I have a few announcements:**

**1. This is the only story being removed from hiatus at the moment. When I finish it, I'll move down the list. The removal order list is on my profile.**

**2. If you are not a fan of H.o.N on Facebook, become one immediately! All sorts of announcements are released on the page, so it's a great way to stay updated on H.o.N stuff. Oh, and did I mention that they have the cover of Destined up?**

**3. The official release date for Destined is...October 25!**

**Now that that's taken care of, enjoy this long awaited chapter of Destined!  
**

Chapter 18:

_Stevie Rae_

She woke up at sunset, like normal. She sat up and began to rub the sleep from her eyes. When she finally opened them, she saw Rephaim standing in the doorway. Smiling softly, and a bit tiredly, Stevie Rae crawled out of bed and went over to hug the former Raven Mocker. She sighed in contentment when she felt his arms wrap around her and his face in her hair.

"Good morning," he said softly. "Or should I say good evening?"

Stevie Rae giggled. "I think it's a moot point really."

Rephaim laughed. "I suppose you're right. Why don't we get dressed so that we can eat breakfast with the others?" Stevie Rae nodded, a playful pout on her lips. Rephaim laughed again.

Stevie Rae walked over to her dresser and dug through the drawers before pulling out her favorite Roper jeans and a T-shirt. She pulled the over-sized shirt that she slept in over her head and replaced it with the black Kenny Chesney concert shirt. She then proceeded to yank off her flannel PJ pants. As she was pulling on her jeans, she successfully managed to get her legs twisted up and fall backwards. Before she could hit the earthen floor, she felt strong arms wrap around her torso and break her fall. She glanced up to see Rephaim smirking down at her, his eyes laughing. With her blushing redder than a ripe tomato, he set her back on her feet.

"Thanks," she muttered, becoming overly focused with the button of her jeans. She glanced up at him, only to see that he was still smirking and trying very hard not to laugh. Shooting him a playful glare, Stevie Rae turned around and went to the mirror to tame her bed-head.

Stevie Rae winced when she saw the state her hair was in. Instead of being her normally tame curls, the mass before her looked more like a badly baled hay bale. She grabbed a brush and began to rake it through the golden monster. The bristles yanked at her scalp as they worked their way through her hair. After about five minutes of yanking, Stevie Rae finally just gave up. She grabbed a scrunchy off of the dresser and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She swung her head from side to side a couple of times before deciding that it was good enough.

She turned around to see that Rephaim was dressed and ready as well. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, his standard attire, and his hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck. Stevie Rae envied his hair. How in the world could he keep it so calm and under control all the time?

He quirked an eyebrow at her when she kept staring at him. He then waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. She rolled her eyes in response.

"You know that my head doesn't reside in the pigsty," she told him while shaking her head.

"True, but that doesn't mean that I don't like to mess with it a little." Rephaim grinned at her. She grinned back before walking over and hugging him again. Hugging Rephaim was something that she would never take for granted; actually, she would never take anything having to do with Rephaim for granted. No matter what anyone else thought, Nyx had truly blessed the two of them.

Rephaim pulled away gently and place a hand on the side of her face, lifting it up so that she was staring into his eyes. Neither of them moved as every unspoken emotion and thought was communicated through the gaze, unwilling to break the moment. Slowly, he bent down to press his lips against hers. Stevie Rae let her eyes fall shut and raised up on her toes to deepen the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his tightened around her waist. She sighed softly against his lips.

"Ahem." The clearing of someone's throat caused the two to spring apart. Stevie Rae's face turned bright red and Rephaim looked slightly sheepish, almost like a little kid caught doing something that they no they shouldn't. They both turned to see Damien standing in the doorway, cheeks slightly pink.

"Um, I hate to interrupt…uh…_this,_" he said, gesturing to the two of them. "But Zoey needs all of us in the kitchen pronto." As he spoke, Damien's eyes became increasingly worried and slightly frightened.

"Ok, we're coming," Stevie Rae said. Damien nodded and turned to leave.

"Damien." The feminine boy turned around. Stevie Rae glanced up at Rephaim, eyebrow raised.

"Yea, what is it?"

"What's going on?" the former Raven Mocker asked, worry and confusion coating his deep voice.

Damien bit his lip and waited a moment before answering. Then, he said, "We've got a problem."

Stevie Rae and Rephaim raised an eyebrow at him. That didn't really answer the question.

Damien sighed. "Look, it's not really my place to explain, so I'll leave that to Zoey. But I will say this: we have a very big problem on our hands and human kind is in for some monumental trouble."

The Raven Mocker and Red Priestess looked at each other as they shared the same thought: _Crap._

_Zoey_

We were staring at the TV in complete and utter shock. The last of the red fledglings left the kitchen, with the only exception being Kramisha. For some reason, the Poet Laureate had insisted on staying behind.

I felt Stark's arm tighten on my waist. The scene unfolding on the news was like one out of one of those gory, horror movies. It was so bad that I wanted to look away, but I couldn't; kinda like one of those really bad car wrecks.

"Zoey!" I spun around along with Stark, the Twins, Aphrodite, and Darius to see Damien running into the room with Stevie Rae and Rephaim on his heels.

"Are the fledglings getting ready to leave?" Stevie Rae asked the moment they had entered the room. They must have passed everyone heading back to their rooms.

I shook my head. "We aren't going anywhere today." Stevie Rae and Rephaim shared a look before turning back to look at me, their faces showing their obvious confusion and distress. "Just watch," I said, turning back to the TV. The sound came back on from where someone had muted it while the fledglings were leaving. Personally, the images were enough by themselves.

_"…bodies were found bearing the same injuries as the three Rogers High students. Police suspect that these murders were committed by the same party. The authorities are also suspecting that these events are occurring due to gang violence. Citizens are being encouraged to stay indoors as much as possible. The mayor and the city council will also put a curfew in place from 9 PM until 5 AM should these attacks continue."_

Darius grabbed the remote and switched the TV off. We all just stared at the black screen for a while, unmoving and completely silent. I glanced at Stark, feeling very nervous about the current situation. He looked down at me before squeezing my waist comfortingly. It didn't help.

"It's like their taunting us," Erin said, her voice low. Shaunee nodded in agreement.

"It feels like they're trying to take us back to the Dark Time," Stevie Rae muttered, fear radiating through her voice. I saw Kramisha shudder next to Aphrodite. I had never heard Stevie Rae use the term before, but I knew that it was referring back to when she and the red fledglings didn't have their humanity and were attacking completely innocent people.

"That won't happen," Stark stated from beside me. We all looked at him. He sighed before continuing. "We've made our choice and they've made theirs. The Dark Time won't come back, not for us."

"Maybe not for you, but we's still got our doubts." We all looked at Kramisha, who was still staring at the screen, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Aphrodite asked. "Excuse me if I'm wrong, but none of you have reverted back to blood crazy monsters yet."

"Exactly!" Kramisha threw her hands up in the air, voice exasperated. "That "yet" is the problem! You's guys are all human, blue fledglings, or vamps! You's don'ts gots to deal with feeling like you's is gonna attack the next passing human 'cause every time you sees one, you're throat burns like crazy!"

"What are you talking about, Kramisha?" I asked. As much as I liked the Poet Laureate, she wasn't making any sense. All of us, except Rephaim, had had that feeling at one point in time.

"I's talking about the fact that we's ain't had some big life-changin' choice to make! We's are still red fledglings. We's don't just go through the Change."

"She's right." I glanced over at Stevie Rae. She walked over and leaned against the counter beside me. "Don't forget that just because we're with you and, for lack of a better word, family, that we are different from you guys."

"It's kinda hard not to forget, Stevie Rae," I said. "I was there when you Changed, remember? And I was there when Stark Changed."

"Yeah, I know. But do you remember what caused us to Change?"

"Huh?"

"I know where this is going," Stark said. "And I see Kramisha's point."

I pulled away from Stark and went and stood in front of the group. "What the heck are you three rambling on about? What does the two of you," I pointed to Stark and Stevie Rae, "going through the Change have to do with what Kramisha's talking about?"

"Yeah, I'm confused too," Shaunee said, raising her hand.

"Can somebody please elaborate?" Erin asked, her blue eyes darting from face to face. Darius and Aphrodite nodded in agreement.

Damien sighed and facepalmed. Shaking his head, he said, "Are you all really that dense?"

I stared at him. Ok, I know he's a genius, but does he have to understand everything and then not let everybody else in on the secret? I mean, come on, tests are one thing, but this is something else entirely.

"Quit giving me that look Zoey. I can't believe you forgot about this."

"Forgot _what_, Damien?"

He sighed again. "The red fledglings were resurrected by Neferet to do her bidding. In the process, they lost their humanity. It took Stevie Rae choosing to take her humanity back for them to become the red fledglings were know today."

"We all know that. Get to the point." Aphrodite spat out. Damien glared at her before continuing.

"The point is, Stevie Rae had a choice to make. She choose her humanity and, by extension, Light. That choice triggered the Change, and since she's their leader, gave the red fledglings a choice of their own."

I smacked myself in the face. How did I forget that? "Of course! They have to choose Light for the Change to occur, otherwise-"

"Wrong." I looked over at Stevie Rae. How was I wrong? That was basically what Damien just said. She lifted her face up to look at me. Her eyes startled me; they were filled with pain and anger. "Dallas didn't choose Light and he's a vamp."

"Dallas?" My eyes widened in shock. Stevie Rae hadn't mentioned Dallas since he ran off with the others and she had completely chosen Rephaim. Then I realized what she said. "Wait, Dallas is a vampyre? When did that happen?"

"The same night we ran them out of the tunnels. He found out that I had an Imprint with Rephaim and he freaked out. I watched as he choose rage and hatred over forgiveness. He Changed in front of me and he's a full, bonafide, vampyre of Darkness."

After Stevie Rae finished speaking, the room was filled with gasps and condolences. Once the hubbub had quieted down and Stevie Rae explained that she was glad she had chosen Repaim over Dallas, I brought us back to the topic at hand.

"So, a red fledgling just has to choose one side or the other and that choice is triggered by some kind of major event or circumstance, correct?" Stevie Rae, Stark, and Kramisha all nodded at the same time.

"I hate to break up this whole little discovery session, but we have bigger problems," Aphrodite said. She pointed at the TV. "Remember those five people who just got killed by the demented freaks?"

Rephaim spat out the water that he had just taken a drink of in shock. "Five? You're saying that they've killed eight people in the past two days!"

We all nodded while Rephaim's jaw hung open and Stevie Rae pulled off a very convincing fish-out-of-water act. The situation with the other red fledglings was getting way out of hand. This was worse than before Stevie Rae made the Change.

"We have to stop them," Darius stated. "And if we don't act soon, who knows how bad things will get."

"But the big question is how?" Damien said. Kramisha nodded in agreement.

"It'll have to be something they can't fight off," Rephaim said thoughtfully. "They've got more tricks up their sleeves than-"

He didn't get to finish that sentence due to the scream. We all looked at Aphrodite with horrified expressions. She had collapsed and was currently writhing in Darius's arms. I knew what the meant. The Prophetess was having another vision.

**What's this, a prophecy? What's going on? And can the gang stop the evil fledglings before it's too late? Stay tuned for all the answers! But review first!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Ok, I'm back! I know I haven't updated in weeks, but I'm so busy these days. Such is the life of a college freshman *sighs*.**

**And since I forgot last update: This story has gotten over 100 reviews! Thank you to everyone for reviewing, faving, or alerting! *throws gooey cookies into the air as a gift*  
**

Chapter 19:

_Dallas_

He rubbed the back of his hand across his face, effectively wiping off the remnants of blood that had been smeared across his mouth. He gave the red liquid a fleeting glance before flicking his tongue out and licking it off. That was the bad thing about these massacres, they wasted perfectly good blood

Dallas stood and dusted the dirt off of his pants. In a way, he felt like his life was a circle; humanity, no humanity, humanity, no humanity. But he stopped that circle once and for all. He wasn't going back to being a tolerant brat. That wasn't what he wanted.

Glancing down at the dead body, he sighed. He pulled the guy up from the ground and slumped him up into a sitting position against the wall. He flipped his least favorite pocket knife out and slashed the guy's left wrist, then made another gash in the man's right wrist before placing the knife in his left hand. Their killings were organized, brutal, a statement, not simple feedings. In a way, it was simpler sometimes to just create a suicide-style death rather than orchestrating a mass killing.

He began walking towards the end of the alleyway, the end not letting out on Main Street. His group knew to stick to the shadows, to not let anyone see them. Sure, the police were blaming gangs for their slaughters, but if anyone saw a vampyre or a fledgling running around with red Marks rather than blue, they would freak and his group would never have peace. For them, everything was about self preservation. And revenge.

"Dallas." His name was spoken softly, but he had the same reaction as if someone had screamed at him. He whirled around and stopped in a defensive crouch. After a moment, he recognized his companion and straightened.

"Nicole." He nodded at her and turned back around. The girl quickly caught up with him, matching her strides with his own. The red fledgling eyed him before speaking.

"So, I see I'm not the only one who went out for a little late night snack." Nicole laughed at her own joke, seeing as dawn was only an hour and a half away. Dallas didn't find it funny. He shot her a look that said "shut up". The girl immediately fell silent. They had all learned quickly what happened when someone didn't follow orders.

"Why'd you come out here? You know how dangerous it gets for you guys," Dallas said. He turned his head so that his scarlet eyes met her brown ones. That was something else that set him apart. As a Changed vamp, his eyes had turned basically completely red with just a hint of his original brown behind them while his fledglings' eyes were their original colors with a slight red tint to them.

"I was hungry, so I left."

"There's food at the school."

"You know what I meant," Nicole stated flatly. Her eyes flashed red for a moment out of irritation.

"I still don't see the reasoning," Dallas said, turning his eyes back to the deserted road. They were almost back to the school where they lived. "I told you guys to stay hidden since a team was going out tomorrow night."

"And you know that what we'll do tomorrow won't feed us for long, Dallas." The two reached the school and the vampyre placed his hand to the wall next to the door. He felt the currents in the automatic lock and alarm system and manipulated them. Once the system was shut down, he opened the door and followed Nicole inside.

"We'll eat after we're done," he said as he reset the system. They kept everything locked up tight and no one knew that they lived in the basement. It was really something. So much better than the tunnels.

"And by eat, I hope you mean a real meal and not that little snack I had tonight," Nicole pouted. Dallas nodded and she grinned.

"Plus, don't forget that by the end of the week…" Dallas paused for dramatic effect. "We'll have full reign over this city!" Nicole began to laugh and he joined her.

_Zoey_

Eventually, Aphrodite stopped thrashing around and fell unconscious. I honestly felt bad for her. Ever since she became human, her visions were getting worse and worse. I wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

We were sitting around the kitchen talking and strategizing for a few hours. Fledglings came in and out to get food or ask us questions. Most were about homework, so we sent Damien off to do some tutoring rounds. As for the rest, some we could answer, some we couldn't.

"When will it be safe to leave again?" ShannonCompton asked at one point. I sighed and shrugged.

"As soon as we get this whole thing resolved," Stevie Rae said with a reassuring, yet strained smile. The red fledgling left the room.

Soon after ShannonCompton left, a soft groan erupted from Aphrodite. We all glanced at each other before crowding around the human girl.

"Can someone get me a freakin' wet rag? My head hurts and I can't see a dang thing!" were the first words out of Aphrodite's mouth. I shook my head while Stevie Rae soaked and wrang out a rag. Of course, the girl has a vision and complains before spilling the beans. Classic Aphrodite.

"So, what'd you see this time?" I asked her. I hoped that her vision was pretty straight forward; I was getting tired of translating cryptic prophecies.

Aphrodite sighed. "Oh, I'm fine Zoey, thanks for asking!" Her voice was laced with sarcasm. I just remained quiet and stood my ground. She sighed again before speaking. "It was Dallas and one of his kids, Natalie, Natasha…"

"Nicole?" Rephaim suggested. Aphrodite nodded.

"Yeah, her. So anyway, I only saw a few hours ahead from now, I think. It wasn't much really, they were just talking mainly. But it's what they were talking about that was disturbing."

"Ok, hag, what'd they say?" Erin asked. I shot her a glare for the "hag" comment, but she ignored me.

"Yeah, girl, spill," Shaunee ordered, arms crossed.

"They were talking about the attacks," Aphrodite said.

"Well, that confirms that suspiscion," Stark mumbled. I elbowed his ribs.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" I exclaimed. He grinned.

"_Anyway_," Aphrodite started again. We shut up and listened. "I don't know specific details about how they do it, or why, but I do know how long they're planning on continuing this…monstrosity."

"And how long is that?" Rephaim asked.

"Dallas said that they'd have control of the city by the end of the week."

"I sense an ulterior motive other than just travestying us," Damien said, scratching his chin.

"English, Damien," Stark said, just as confused as the rest of us.

"Travestying means mocking," Damien explained with a sigh. " You people really should study up on your vocabulary more."

"Can we get back on topic please?" I asked. Everyone fell silent again. "This situation just got more drastic. We have no choice now."

"No choice against what, Z?" Stevie Rae asked.

"Against fighting back. We have to take the fight to them. Tomorrow."

**So, we're nearing the end of this story. I think there will only be a few more chapters, but not sure exactly how many. I don't really plan out stories, I write what comes to me.**

**Also, I'm thinking about writing character background stories after my other stories are done. I put a poll on my profile so you guys can vote on which character you want to see done first. I want your opinions, I like hearing what you guys think! The poll is currently open and will be open through Halloween. I'll close the poll on November 1st, so that gives you over a month to vote. Only one vote per person.**

**Speaking of opinions...review please!**


	21. Chapter 20

**Guys, I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! I've been so busy with school and work, not to mention I've had major writer's block on everything. Oh well, I updated right? And let's not forget the Destined is officially out! YAY! So, without further ado, I present Chapter 20 of Destined!**

Chapter 20:

_Stark_

They spent the rest of the day planning. They spent the rest of the night in Stevie Rae and Rephaim's room, breaking once for lunch, but it wasn't for long. Stark had to basically force Zoey away from everything and get her to eat. She was determined, and when she was determined about something, no one could really do anything about it. Except him.

"How do we figure out where and when we strike?" Stevie Rae asked. Rephaim nodded beside her.

"We'll strike tomorrow. As for where and the exact time, I don't really know," Zoey said. Stark could feel the worry radiate off of her in waves, so he gave her waist a squeeze. She stepped closer into his side. Mentally, he sighed as he felt her relax.

"Do you think that-" Erin started, but Aphrodite cut her off.

"Don't even suggest it," she snarled, glaring at the blonde Twin.

"But you don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Did it involve me trying to have a vision?" When Erin didn't reply, Aphrodite flipped her hair. "That's what I thought."

"Actually that's not a bad idea," Damien said thoughtfully.

"Actually, it's a terrible idea," the Prophetess retorted. She crossed her arms and sent a death glare at Damien.

"Why is it so terrible?" he asked. "I know you don't necessarily like having the visions, but if you could actually try to have one it could help us a lot. It would be just like when you felt the binds on Kalona back in Italy."

"No, it wouldn't be," Aphrodite scoffed. "Visions are different than sensing something like that. I have no control over when Nyx decides to bless me with one. Believe me, I've tried."

"Tried blocking them is more like it," Shaunee muttered. Erin grinned at her twin and gave her a high five. Aphrodited growled and looked like she was about to rip someone's throat out.

"Guys! Cut it out!" Zoey commanded, slamming her hand down on the one table in the room. "Now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. Get yourselves together! We have a bigger problem on our hands than whether or not Aphrodite can control her visions." Everybody fell silent.

"I still have a feeling that we have something do with the way their acting," Stark said, glancing around the room.

"What would we have to do with anything?" Zoey asked him. "Well, other than the fact that they want to taunt you, Stevie Rae, and the red fledglings."

"Think about it," he began, his eyes meeting every other pair in the room. "Stevie Rae, the red fledglings and I have all died. Physically, we're the same as they are. They don't like you guys because you haven't died. And they don't like us because we're humane, which I guess is the same thing as still being alive to them."

Damien nodded. "I thought about that, too. Do you think that they're trying to torture us and drag you guys back to when…you know." He dragged his finger across his throat for effect.

"They don't want us on their side," Stevie Rae said. "Dallas basically hates my guts for being with Rephaim and the others tried to kill me at one point. Trust me, they don't want us to go back to those days with them."

"Maybe they just want a fight," Darius said. Everyone glanced at the experienced Warrior. "If they hate us all so much, don't you think that if we were them, we'd want to fight us too and try to be rid of us for good?"

"He makes a good point," Rephaim stated.

"Then if they want a fight, why don't we just lay low and ignore it all?" Aphrodite said. Everyone glared at her and Stark growled slightly. "What?"

"People are _dying_, Aphrodite," Zoey said. "We can't let this go on any longer. If we do, Tulsa could be wiped off the map and vamps everywhere could be in grave danger."

"Guys, we've established a million times that we need to fight back," Damien said. "We need to know where and how. According to Stevie Rae, there's as many of them as there are of us and Aphrodite doesn't know where they'll strike next. We have to figure out how we can fight them all off on our terms."

Zoey nodded slowly. She stood silent for a moment. Stark could feel her anxiety, her worry, and her fear mixed in with his own. "I need some air," she said and immediately strode from the room.

Stark stared after her. The room was quiet for a moment before he finally sighed. "I'm going after her," he said and promptly left the room. He walked down the hall and into their room.

Zoey sat on the bed, head in her hands. Through their bond, Stark could feel the storm of emotions that she was feeling. He went over and sat on the bed next to her. He draped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his side.

"What am I going to do?" she mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"_You're_ not doing anything," he replied. Zoey glanced up at him, confusion showing through her eyes. "_We're_ fighting back. All of us. You're not alone Zoey."

Zoey nodded and smiled slightly. Her brow furrowed and she looked away. "I'm still a leader though. And I have no idea how to fight against them."

"We'll figure it out, don't worry."

"I can't help it."

Stark pulled Zoey close to him and nodded. "I know." He growled out in frustration, causing Zoey to look at him strangely. "I wish I knew how we could get this fight on our terms," he explained.

Suddenly, Zoey's eyes brightened. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back and gave her a confused look when she pulled away.

"You're a genius Stark!" she cried and hugged him.

"I am?" he said confused for a moment. He blushed and looked away. "I mean, yeah I am! Um, why am I a genius again?" He looked around to see Zoey fly out of the room.

_What in the world was that about?_ he thought. He shook his head quickly and ran out after her. "Zoey, wait up!"

_Zoey_

I burst into the room and grinned widely at everyone else. I strode forward and looked everyone in the eye, still smiling.

"Are you PMSing or something?" Aphrodite asked. "'Cause this is the second mood swing you've had today."

I shook my head. "No, but I know how we can fight the others and stand a chance!" I said. Everyone gasped and stared at me expectantly.

"Well, are you gonna tell us?" Erin asked.

"Or are you just going to stand there smiling like an idiot?" Shaunee added.

"Well, it wasn't exactly my idea. Stark's the one who came up with it," I said as my Guardian walked into the room.

"Came up with what?" he asked. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist gently.

"The plan to stop the dark fledglings," I stated simply, tilting my head back to look at him. He cocked his head to the side and stared down at me.

"Um, what plan? All I said was that I wished that we knew how to fight them on our terms and you ran off."

"That's the plan I'm talking about," I said. I rose up on my toes to peck his lips gently before looking back at the others. I raised an eyebrow since everyone was staring at me like I had grown another head. "What?"

"That's not really a plan, Z," Damien said.

I sighed. "Ok, maybe the idea isn't a plan. But I do have one."

"And what is that?" Rephaim asked.

"Simple. We draw them back to the House of Night and fight them. There, no humans will be hurt and we'll have the upper hand since we still go to the school." Murmurs of agreement came from everyone and Stark squeezed my waist in approval.

"There's one problem with that." I glanced over at Darius, waiting on him to explain. "My instincts are telling me that they want to us to bring the fight to them. How are we going to get them back to the school?"

I laughed. "That's actually the easy part. We just need some bait." I glanced over at Stevie Rae and smirked.

She shook her head fiercely. "Oh, heck no! You are not thinking what I think you're thinking! Are you?" I just smirked wider and she groaned. "Piece of horse crap!"

I saw Rephaim squeeze her shoulder gently. "I don't like it either, but I think Zoey's right. We need them to come to us and I don't see any other way to do that." Stevie Rae sighed and nodded.

"So are we all in agreement then?" I asked. Everyone glanced around at each other before looking back at me and nodding simultaneously. "Then let's get the final details down and we'll be ready!"

**So, I know some people were wondering how Aurox was going to play into the ending and I hope maybe this helps a little bit. Also, don't forget about the poll for my Nyx's Hidden Histories series (yes I did name the background series). I've only got two votes in, so I may leave it up until November 5th instead of closing it on the 1st.**

**And for those of you who read/write Inuyasha fanfiction, there's a forum called The Dawn of the New Moon Challenge. It's a contest forum featuring weekly challenges. The third theme is open through November 5th and voting for the first two themes is open until a minimum of three votes are in. And I would really like it if you guys would go read and vote for my stories in the first two themes. They're called Healing is a Process and Alone in the Dark.**

**So, with all that said, please review and hopefully writer's block won't stop the last few chapters! :D**


End file.
